March 2014 by St. Anthony Messenger

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

ST. ANTHONY MARCH 2014 • $3.95 • FRANCISCANMEDIA.ORG

A Modern-Day Hermit Mark Burnett and Son of God A Personal Account of Dementia Martin Sheen’s Return to Faith

Messenger

Typhoon Haiyan The Church Responds

REFLECTION

ll labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. © KZENON/VEER; BACKGROUND © JOHN FOXX IMAGES

—Martin Luther King Jr.

CONTENTS

ST. ANTHONY

❘ MARCH 2014 ❘ VOLUME 121/NUMBER 10

Messenger ON THE COVER

COVER STORY

You can’t repress happiness! This Filipino child, smiling in the midst of tragedy, lives in the city of Palo, where typhoon damage is severe. There, CRS distributed 1,000 hygiene kits early and is staying to help people get back on their feet.

28 We Haven’t Forgotten You Soon after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the central Philippines, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was on a plane, carrying a promise of solidarity from American Catholics. By Judy Ball

Photo © CRS/Jim Stipe

F E AT U R E S

16 The Life of a Modern Hermit

2 Dear Reader

Inspired by St. Clare, Marsha Muzzarelli spends her days in prayer and solitude at her home in Kentucky. Text by David Reeves, photos by Tony Tribble

3 From Our Readers 6 Followers of St. Francis Ed Demyanovich, OFM

8 Reel Time

22 The Seven Deadly Sins

Gimme Shelter

They feed on each other, turning us toward ourselves. And they are deadly. By Lawrence S. Cunningham

36 The Long Good-bye

D E PA R T M E N T S

10 Channel Surfing The Voice

Faith helped this mother and daughter face dementia together. By Julie Basque

12 Church in the News 26 Short Take A Scent Story

35 Editorial

40 My Return to Faith

Bullying: Not Just a Kid Problem

By Martin Sheen

42 Live Well

44 Son of God Hits the Silver Screen Emmy-winning producer Mark Burnett is using his skills and his faith to bring the story of Jesus to millions of movie lovers. By Christopher Heffron

Move Your Body

49 At Home on Earth

In-Between Time

50 Ask a Franciscan Burial in a Catholic Cemetery

52 Book Corner Rich in Years

54 A Catholic Mom Speaks Becoming Unconnected

56 Backstory

ST. ANTHONY M

DEAR READER

essenger

Nazareth: Mary’s ‘Yes’

Publisher/CEO Daniel Kroger, OFM

This month’s feast of the Annunciation will be celebrated very solemnly in Nazareth. On the site of a JudeoChristian synagogue (third century), a Byzantine basilica (fifth century), and a Crusader church (13th century), the Franciscans built a modest church in 1730. They had acquired the Grotto of the Annunciation 110 years earlier. The current basilica, which also serves as the parish church, began in 1955 and was dedicated in 1969. Remains of the Crusader church are visible on the lower level. Scratched in Greek into a nearby stone is Gabriel’s greeting (“Hail, Mary”)—perhaps the world’s oldest prayer to Mary. Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Galilee. The friars, who arrived in 1347, minister in the parish, staff a cultural institute, offer social assistance, conduct retreats, and assist in the parish school. In the upper church and its courtyard are key Marian images from many countries; a few of them appear in my March 2000 cover story at StAnthony Messenger.org. The friars also serve at the nearby church built over the reputed site of St. Joseph’s workshop. Nazareth has welcomed Popes Paul VI (1964), John Paul II (2000), and Benedict XVI (2009). Pope Francis is not scheduled to visit there this May. A virtual tour of the basilica can be accessed at Nazareth-en. custodia.org. May we all respond to God as generously as Mary did!

Chief Operating Officer Thomas A. Shumate, CPA

Editor in Chief John Feister

Art Director Jeanne Kortekamp

Franciscan Editor Pat McCloskey, OFM

Managing Editor Susan Hines-Brigger

Associate Editor Christopher Heffron

Editorial Assistant Sharon Lape

Director of Marketing, Sales, and Internet Barbara K. Baker

Advertising Fred Limke

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ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER (ISSN #0036276X) (U.S.P.S. PUBLICATION #007956 CANADA PUBLICATION #PM40036350) Volume 121, Number 10, is published monthly for $39.00 a year by the Franciscan Friars of St. John the Baptist Province, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-6498. Phone (513) 241-5615. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional entry offices. U.S. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: St. Anthony Messenger, P.O. Box 189, Congers, NY 10920-0189. CANADA RETURN ADDRESS: c/o AIM, 7289 Torbram Rd., Mississauga, ON, Canada L4T 1G8. To subscribe, write to the above address or call (866) 543-6870. Yearly subscription price: $39.00 in the United States; $69.00 in Canada and other foreign countries. Single copy price: $3.95. For change of address, four weeks’ notice is necessary. Writer’s guidelines can be found at Franciscan Media.org. The publishers are not responsible for manuscripts or photos lost or damaged in transit. Names in fiction do not refer to living or dead persons. Member of the Catholic Press Association Published with ecclesiastical approval Copyright ©2014. All rights reserved.

St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

FROM OUR READERS

Deaf Ears I was intrigued by the title of John Feister’s January editorial, “Is Anybody Listening?” Sadly, the answer is no. After reading about Pope Francis asking the world’s Catholic population recently about living a Catholic life in today’s topsy-turvy world, I looked forward to the fact that we would have input. I wondered how the US bishops would approach this task. Would they, as some bishops had done in other parts of the world, give the laity a questionnaire online? Would there be diocesan meetings? After waiting until late January and still not hearing a peep about any inquiry, I asked my pastor when we would be giving input to the US bishops so that they could address the laity’s concerns at their synod

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 slander or 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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this fall. I was shocked to find out that the bishops had already made a unilateral decision. I was told that, because they felt that the laity didn’t have enough theological background to correctly address moral issues, they took it upon themselves to address what they decided were the concerns of the laity. As I expressed my dismay, I could not help but feel that I, at 70 years, was being told, “There, there, child, you shouldn’t trouble yourself about such matters.” To this day I have not heard one iota about the US bishops’ decision from my bishop. The laity are given lip service that they comprise the Church, but when it comes to having an actual voice in it, that is another story. Interestingly, if the laity had been consulted, this may have been one response the bishops would have heard. It may also be the reason that so many have given up on the Church. After reading Mr. Feister’s editorial several more times, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was aware that, as far as getting feedback from the Catholics, it was already a done deal—but not by the laity. Sean McGuan Sr. Cleveland, Ohio

ple who pounded those crosses in the ground are like the crowds in John 8:1-11. They wanted to throw stones at the woman who committed a sin. Jesus did not cast a stone, but told the sinner to sin no more. Putting crosses on the parish grounds is not being pro-life. It’s being self-righteous. It’s easy to be pro-life for the unborn, but what is being done for the child born into poverty by a single mother? To be pro-life is to make sure children have proper health care and opportunities for education. My congressional representative and one of my senators claim to be pro-life; however, they have voted no to food stamps, no to CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), no to Head Start, and no to unemployment insurance. All of these measures help families in need— especially children. I have taken the time to write to them on this issue. Now I say to Ms. Hines-Brigger: put pressure on your legislators and Church leaders to protect and enhance the lives of those in need. That’s being pro-life. Little white crosses do nothing but make a pompous statement. Marilyn Arado Elmhurst, Illinois

All Life is Sacred

A Suggestion for Pro-Life Parents

I am responding to Susan HinesBrigger’s “A Catholic Mom Speaks” entitled “A Little Help Here” from the January issue. The column was about a mother trying to explain to her child about the little white crosses on the parish grounds. When you cannot be honest with children, there’s something wrong with the picture. Young children have a sense of truth and know when adults are evading an issue or telling a fib. Each cross represents a murdered child. That’s the hard truth! The peo-

I enjoy reading Susan Hines-Brigger’s column “A Catholic Mom Speaks.” I have nine children, ages 33 to 15. I also have 11 grandchildren with two more on the way. I have been active in the pro-life movement for years. My husband and I used to bring our children to many pro-life events, such as candlelight vigils and rallies. I took special interest in Ms. Hines-Brigger’s January column, “A Little Help Here.” I’d like to let her know about a book her 3-year-old might enjoy. It is called Angel in the M a rch 2 0 1 4 ❘ 3

Waters by Regina Doman, and it might be a way to help explain prolife work to children. Pro-life materials produced by the Heritage House are used in our local Elizabeth’s New Life Center. I enjoy reading Catholic books and magazines. I appreciate Susan’s contributions each month to St. Anthony Messenger. Joyce Platfoot Wapakoneta, Ohio

Informed Voting

■ I’m concerned about how we can overcome the secular aspects of our society and get Catholics, in large numbers, back to Mass. How can we use Pope Francis to bring nonpracticing Catholics back to the faith? How do we increase involvement in Catholic education by all members of the community? ■ Why do so many turn away from the sacraments? So often we hear about children not being baptized and more marriages taking place outside the Church. What about annulments? Many articles could be written about the direction of our Church regarding Baptism, Marriage, and annulments. ■ What is happening in other dioceses regarding evangelization and a woman’s place in the Church? How do we make the practice of religion and faith formation important to the youth of 2014?

What articles would you like to see in St. Anthony Messenger? Let us know at Facebook.com/StAnthonyMessengerMagazine.

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I would like to respond to Patrick J. Serey, MD’s letter in the January issue of St. Anthony Messenger. I am a Catholic and an independent voter who strongly believes in the sanctity of all life—not just the unborn. For people like me, voting has become a huge issue of conscience. When I am faced with choosing a government representative, and the Republican candidate’s views on all matters except abortion are repugnant to me, I have no choice but to vote Democrat or not vote at all—but it is my duty to vote. It’s too easy to be a one-issue voter. To my great dismay, the pastor at my church, on the weekend prior to the last major election, chose to instruct his flock that to vote for a pro-choice candidate would be committing a mortal sin. To do as he urged would have meant to vote only the Republican ticket. I am quite sure that he lost some of his parishioners that day. I think this is a good example of why the clergy should keep politics out of the pulpit. Barbara Godinez Oro Valley, Arizona

On a recent survey, we asked a portion of our subscribers what they’d like to see in future issues of St. Anthony Messenger. Here are some of their responses.

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F O L L O W E R S O F S T. F R A N C I S

Preaching by Example

ustomers are sometimes surprised when they discover that their salesman is a friar. They ask him, “Don’t you belong in a church?” And Brother Ed Demyanovich will respond by telling them that “St. Francis wasn’t in a church all the time. Francis preached the Gospel and didn’t use words.” Not the typical exchange you expect to have with an employee at Miller Supply Ace Hardware in Northampton, Pennsylvania, but Ed means it when he says, “By my example I hope to preach.” In an everyday job, in an everyday setting, he’s convinced he can serve God’s people as well as he could in a church. “It gets me grounded to the real world when I get to Ace,” says Ed, who two days a week makes the 20-minute drive to work from St. Francis Retreat House in Easton. The job at Miller’s, where he mans the hardware department and works with locks, dovetails nicely with his retreat house ministry as a jack-of-all trades. Wherever life has taken him in the past two decades, Ed has sought employment with Ace Hardware. Bosses have never shied

Brother Ed Demyanovich, OFM

away from his religious affiliation—even when he worked for an Ace in Chicago where the manager was Jewish. “They’re kind of proud of me,” he says of his supervisors. A native of Newfoundland, Ed was drawn to religious life by stories of his great-aunt, Venerable Sr. Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, SC, whose cause for sainthood was advanced in December 2013, when Pope Francis recognized a miracle attributed to her intercession. While his aunt was known for spiritual writing, “I was always handy,” says Ed, a certified locksmith who is also trained in addiction counseling. He’s been a pastoral associate in Lafayette, Louisiana, a vicar and building and groundskeeper in Cedar Lake, Indiana, and a member of the friars’ vocation staff. “When I entered [the order], I was thinking I was going to work behind the scenes with my hands, doing repairs at the friary or parish or at people’s homes.” After all, “When Francis started the order, he wanted the brothers to work with the skills the Lord had given them.” What’s appealing about his job at the

STORIES FROM OUR READERS Speedy Recovery

Learn more about St. Anthony and share your story of how he helped you at AmericanCatholic.org/ Features/Anthony.

6 ❘ Ma rch 2014

I made my living as a painter and decorator, which meant we were frequently on five-to-seven different jobs in a week’s time. Somehow I lost my gold wedding band. I searched everywhere I could think of, but after a few weeks I finally gave up. Two years later, I was lying in bed and I started to think about my lost ring. I prayed to St. Anthony, and then I heard a voice in my heart say, “Paul, can you remember painting some model garages?” I did. It was my practice to wear my worst paint clothes one more time and then dispose of them. “Go to the garages. Behind them is a shallow creek. Look in your pants pocket after you fish them out of the water,” the voice said. The next morning, I told my wife we were going to this place. I was 95 percent sure I would find my ring in one of those pockets, and sure enough there it was in my left front pocket. —Paul Gambla, Crest Hill, Illinois

St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA

Lenten Preacher In 1231, Anthony gave a series of Lenten sermons in Padua. Afterward, the city’s rulers passed a law against the imprisonment of debtors, a practice that Anthony had criticized during his sermons. The law noted Anthony’s role in its formulation. Debts need to be repaid, but imprisoning debtors does not usually hasten repayment. It certainly always imposes further hardships on the debtor’s family. Prophetic preaching always challenges an injustice presenting itself as “no big deal.” –P.M.

CNS PHOTO, KAREN CALLAWAY/CATHOLIC NEW WORLD

hardware store, says Ed, is “working with people with their problems, just being present to them, letting them know that Franciscans are not just in church; they’re everywhere, in all walks of life.” And customers have responded. “They have asked me to bless articles or houses or bring Communion to relatives. They have asked me to come and see a family member who is struggling with an addiction, someone who’s on their deathbed or sick in the hospital,” he says. Being Franciscan in the world of commerce does have its pitfalls, though. When customers complain about a product, Ed gives them a straight answer—which can result in lost sales, like the Santa in Miracle on 34th Street who directed customers to another store. “Sometimes I’ll get in trouble,” he admits. “The boss will say, ‘Ed, you shouldn’t say that.’” And Ed says he will then calmly reply, “I’m not telling customers what to buy.” He knows that whatever happens at Ace, he can always go back to his “other” day job. —Toni Cashnelli

To learn more about Franciscan saints, visit AmericanCatholic.org/Features/Saintofday.

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M a rch 2 0 1 4 ❘ 7

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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.

REEL TIME

W I T H S I S T E R R O S E PA C AT T E , F S P

Gimme Shelter

COURTESY OF ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

SISTER ROSE’S

Favorite Films for Lent Chocolat (2000) Jesus of Nazareth (1977) Ben-Hur (1959) Of Gods and Men (2010) Babette’s Feast (1987)

8 ❘ March 2014

Vanessa Hudgens is winning critical acclaim for her role as a pregnant teenager in Gimme Shelter. Teenager Agnes “Apple” Bailey (Vanessa Hudgens) has been in foster care for years, but is now homeless. She has fled from her abusive and controlling mother, June (Rosario Dawson), and is now pregnant and searching for her father, Tom (Brendan Fraser). He is a Wall Street broker and is married with a family. Tom’s wife, Joanna (Stephanie Szostak), does not make Apple feel welcome, and neither her father nor stepmother thinks she should keep the baby. After a car accident, a kindly priest, Father McCarthy (James Earl Jones), introduces Apple to a shelter for homeless, pregnant women. Apple moves in, but soon is under assault by June, who demands that Apple return to her. Gimme Shelter is based on one of many stories about girls in similar situations who have taken shelter in the New Jersey homes founded by Kathy DiFiore—played in this film by Ann Dowd—who had once fled from an abusive marriage into homelessness. Director Ron Krauss set out to make a docu-

mentary, but after living for many months at one of the shelters, he wrote the script for this narrative feature. Gimme Shelter is straightforward and very moving. Apple is starving for food, for shelter, for an understanding family. Dawson is scary as the drug-addicted mother. Hudgens gives an effective performance as the teen mother who wants to keep her baby. Gimme Shelter is a love story about really living. A-3, PG-13 ■ Domestic violence.

The Monuments Men In 1943, Frank (George Clooney), a museum director, is given the task to form a group of museum curators and art historians to find, preserve, and return fine art in Europe to the owners before Hitler can destroy it should the Nazis lose the war. Frank recruits James (Matt Damon), a curator at the New York Museum of Art, and five others (played by John Goodman, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Hugh Bonneville, and Jean Dujardin). The St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

George Clooney leads an all-star cast in The Monuments Men, about curators who plan to rescue priceless works of art from the Nazis.

CNS PHOTO/FOX

group goes through basic training to prepare for their mission. James goes to Paris where he works to earn the trust of Claire (Cate Blanchett), a museum curator who has recorded every art item stolen by the Nazis from her museum. For two years, the “Monuments Men” search for art hidden away in Germany. George Clooney, who directed the film, cowrote the script with Grant Heslov. It is based on Robert M. Edsel’s 2013 tome The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. Though Clooney keeps the tone light, he asks a serious question: Is it right for a man to die for culture? This is not a movie about the Holocaust per se, but about humanity. It’s also about the beliefs and values that a civilization preserves through its art. Hitler not only sought to wipe the Jews from the earth, but he was willing to destroy their art as well. The Monuments Men is an important and little-known story of a group of men and women who put their lives at risk to preserve art in Europe. The task of returning these artworks to their rightful owners is still ongoing. All the actors give fine performances, but the only character we get to know well is Damon’s. Not yet rated, PG-13 ■ War violence.

narrative, as well as Jesus’ early years, is shown through an artistic collage in the first several minutes. The film then settles into Jesus’ public life, as well as his passion, death, resurrection, and post-resurrection. Jesus is played by Diogo Morgado, and Mary is portrayed by Downey. The film spends considerable time on Jesus walking on water—an event that seemed to appeal to the filmmakers. The one image that was overdone was the emphasis on the holes in Jesus’ hands after the resurrection. There is, however, one scene that impressed me. It shows Peter calling Jesus’ followers together to celebrate the Eucharist when he realizes that Jesus had truly risen. We do not know if this happened, but the imagining enriches the narrative. Son of God is fine for all audiences except the very young. While this film does not have the violence of Gibson’s film, the passion and death of Jesus are fully realized. Son of God is inspiring and well-produced. Not yet rated, PG-13 ■ Violence.

Diogo Morgado plays the role of Jesus in Son of God, based on the blockbuster miniseries that aired on History Channel in 2013.

Catholic Cl assifications A-1 A-2 A-3 L O

Son of God On the heels of the 10th anniversary of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, this version of the life of Jesus is drawn and edited from the 2013 hit miniseries The Bible, produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett (see story on page 44). The Old Testament Fr anciscanMedia.org

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.

■

Find reviews by Sister Rose and others at CatholicMovieReviews.org.

March 2014 ❘ 9

CHANNEL SURFING

WITH CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON

UP CLOSE

NBC, check local listings Reality competition shows are often a mixed bag. Entertaining? Sure. Uplifting? Not so much. But NBC’s The Voice is that rare program that celebrates the thrill of competition without demoralizing the competitors. Talent is valued above all else. Full disclosure: I’m late to this party. For years, I saw it as a flashy knockoff of American Idol. Then came season-five winner Tessanne Chin’s astonishing rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Inside of three minutes, I was hooked. And unlike Idol, The Voice allows for older (and less camera-ready) crooners to shine. The formula is simple: the show begins with blind auditions. The four judges—with their backs to the stage—pick singers based solely on their sound. They assemble their teams and carefully mentor the singers for the duration of the competition. The winner receives a cash prize and a lucrative record contract. There’s much to admire about this show. Not the least of which is the chemistry among the judges. For season six, there’s Adam Levine, Shakira, Usher, and Blake Shelton, and their banter and playful putdowns keep the show airy and watchable. But full credit should be given to the singers who lay their dreams on the line in front of the formidable four—as well as the nation. Their bravery is commendable. Their talent can only be described as God-given.

The 86th Academy Awards March 2, 7 p.m., ABC Strip away the artifice of the evening—the gowns, the rambling presenters, the gratuitous speeches from winners—and you have an event that, at its heart, honors the very best in film. And 2013 was a memorable year for them. Who could forget Chiwetel Ejiofor’s haunting performance in 12 Years a Slave, or the thrilling space odyssey Gravity? It’s an exciting year because there are no clear front-runners in several of the major categories. Regardless of the outcome, the evening should run smoothly in the capable hands of host Ellen Degeneres. She has a knack for entertaining without being crass. In the meantime, let’s hope the Academy gives some Oscar love to Cate Blanchett for her careerbest performance in Blue Jasmine, about an unhinged former socialite who teeters between her opulent past and a joyless present.

Frontline

PBS, check local listings How many television shows can boast 30 years on the air without waning in excellence? Frontline is a cut above other news/documentary series because it avoids flash for substance, shedding light on social issues that are trending here and now. The show’s impartial—and some might say dispassionate— treatment of its subjects is truly fair and balanced. Its website offers a library of episodes for channel surfers to savor. Sports lovers should take time to watch the riveting “League of Denial: The NFL Concussion Crisis,” while Catholics got a treat in February with “Secrets of the Vatican.”

Adam Levine is one of four judges on NBC’s hit reality competition show The Voice. 10 ❘ March 2014

St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

The Voice

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CHURCH IN THE NEWS

❘ BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER

CNS/PAUL HARING

UN Observer Defends Vatican children, reported Catholic News Service (CNS). Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican observer to UN agencies in Geneva, testified on January 16 that the Church recognizes abuse of children as both a crime and a sin, and the Vatican has been promoting policies that, “when properly applied, will help eliminate the occurrence of child sexual abuse by clergy and other Church personnel.” The archbishop addressed Archbishop Silvano Tomasi serves as the Vatican the committee’s annual sesobserver to United Nations agencies in Geneva. sion to review reports from A Vatican representative testifying states that signed the UN Convenbefore the United Nations Committee tion on the Rights of the Child. The on the Rights of the Child said the Holy See signed it in 1990. Abuse by Vatican is serious about protecting clergy, Archbishop Tomasi said, is

“particularly serious since these persons are in positions of great trust, and they are called to levels of service that are to promote and protect all elements of the human person, including physical, emotional, and spiritual health. This relationship of trust is critical and demands a higher sense of responsibility and respect for the persons served.” During his homily the same day, Pope Francis spoke generally about the shame of the “many scandals” perpetrated by members of the Church. Those who abuse and exploit others, he said, may wear a holy medal or a cross, but they have no “living relationship with God or with his word.” Instead of giving others “the bread of life,” he said, they feed them poison. In related news, on January 15 the

Thousands Brave Cold at March for Life

1 2 ❘ Ma rch 2014

CNS/LESLIE KOSSOFF

Despite freezing temperatures, thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC, as part of the annual March for Life and rally, reported CNS. The theme of this year’s march was “Adoption: A Noble Decision.” Jeanne Monahan, March for Life president, read to the crowd a tweet from Pope Francis, which stated, “I join the March for Life in Washington with my prayers. May God help us respect all life, especially the most vulnerable.” Patrick Kelly, chairman of the March for Life, told the crowd filled with young people that they were “freezing for the best cause in the world.”

Young people hold signs outside the US Supreme Court building during the March for Life in Washington January 22.

St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

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

In January, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Vatican counterpart, Cardinal-designate Pietro Parolin. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters that the two discussed, among other subjects, “themes that

Archdiocese of Chicago released more than 6,000 pages of documents related to cases involving 30 priests accused of sexual abuse. The documents reveal the story of the priests, the abuse, information the archdiocese had, and what action it took. John O’Malley, director of legal services for the archdiocese, spoke during a news conference at the Archbishop Quigley Center. Fr ancisca n Media .org

have been the object of concern and discussion by the US bishops,” particularly “the health-care reform and its relationship to guarantees of religious freedom.” The social-media network Instagram has gained yet another member. In late January, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office for Media Relations created an account at instagram.com/usccb. The account features bishops interacting with young people, the Catholic Church in action, behindthe-scenes photos of the USCCB, graphics, and more. The former personal secretary of Blessed Pope John Paul II has approved the publication of the late pontiff’s private notebooks, despite a request in his will that they should be burned. In a January 22 news conference, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow said, “I had no doubt these were such important items, testifying to the spirituality of a great pope, that it would be a crime to destroy them.” The notebooks were published in early February by Znak publishing house. According to a new poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, nearly 50 percent of American sports fans—especially football

“The information is upsetting. The information is painful. It’s difficult to read, even without the benefit of hindsight,” O’Malley said. “We believe, however, that this step is an important step in the process of transparency.” Auxiliary Bishop Francis J. Kane, vicar general, said the documents will show that the archdiocese did make some mistakes in these cases.

fans—see supernatural forces at play in the games they are watching. Fans either pray for God to help their team, believe their team has been cursed, or believe God plays a role in determining the outcome of sporting events.

CNS/PAUL HARING

CNS/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO

US President Barack Obama will visit the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis on March 27, according to the White House. The Vatican confirmed the meeting, which is the second trip to the Vatican for Obama, but his first time meeting with Pope Francis. “The president looks forward to discussing with Pope Francis their shared commitment to fighting poverty and growing inequality,” said the January 21 White House statement.

The National Animal Protection Agency (NEPA) in Italy has called for an end to the Vatican releasing doves after two doves released by Pope Francis and two young children were attacked by aggressive predator birds. In an open letter, the organization said that because the doves are bred in captivity and lack strong survival instincts, releasing them into the wild as is often done at the Vatican “is like condemning them to certain death.” For more news, visit American Catholic.org.

In a letter published January 12 in parish bulletins announcing the news, Cardinal Francis George wrote, “We cannot change the past, but we can help those affected and work to ensure this does not happen again.” He said that although the files are about old cases, their release “nevertheless . . . puts the actions of these men and the archdiocese itself in the spotlight. Painful though publicly M a rch 2 0 1 4 ❘ 1 3

US Bishops File Amicus Curiae Brief The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on January 28 filed an amicus curiae brief with the US Supreme Court in support of the plaintiffs in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius. The brief argued that religious exercise cannot, and should not, be excluded from the marketplace; that the mandate substantially burdens Hobby Lobby’s and Conestoga’s religious exercise; and that the mandate cannot survive strict scrutiny review by the Court. Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB’s Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, stated that “Catholics believe that the right to religious freedom proceeds from the inherent dignity of each and every human person, and that includes people who run businesses. They should not be specially excluded from the freedom to practice their faith in daily life.”

Pope to Breast-Feeding Mothers: ‘Let Them Eat’ During a papal Mass in the Sistine Chapel on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord at which he baptized 32 babies, Pope Francis assured mothers that breast-feeding their babies in public, even during a papal Mass in the Sistine Chapel, is OK, reported CNS. 1 4 ❘ Ma rch 2014

CNS/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO VIA REUTERS

reviewing the past can be, it is part of the accountability and transparency to which the archdiocese is committed.” The archdiocese lists the names of 65 priests with substantiated accusations of abuse on its website, archchicago.org. O’Malley said the archdiocese is working to create a process to release the documents related to all 65 priests. Over a 25year period, the archdiocese has paid out approximately $100 million in settlements. Those funds come from the sale of property owned by the archdiocese.

Pope Francis baptizes an infant in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican January 12. The pope baptized 32 children during the celebration on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. “Some will cry because they are uncomfortable or because they are hungry,” he said during his brief and unscripted homily. “If they are hungry, mothers, let them eat, no worries, because here they are the main focus.” It was not the first time the pope has advocated for breast-feeding mothers. In a December interview with La Stampa newspaper, the pope recalled an incident with a young woman he saw at a Wednesday general audience whose child was crying desperately. “I told her, ‘Ma’am I think your baby is hungry.’ And she replied, ‘Yes, it would be time.’ I replied, ‘Well, please, feed him.’ She was modest and didn’t want to breastfeed him in public while the pope drove by,” the pope said in the interview.

Diocese Files for Bankruptcy Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, California, announced on January 15 that the diocese had decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, reported CNS.

The decision was made, said Bishop Blaire, “through consultation with experts in finance and law, as well as with priests, parishioners, and many others in the community our diocese serves.” The filing will help “compensate as fairly as possible” victims of abuse, “including those who have not yet come forward or had their day in court,” said Bishop Blaire. He added that it will also “provide a way for us to continue the ministry and support we provide to the parishes, the poor, and the communities located within our diocese.” In the past 20 years, the Stockton Diocese has paid more than $14 million in legal settlements for victims of clergy sexual abuse; the total amount of payments, including funds from insurers and others, amounts to $32 million. Stockton becomes the 10th US archdiocese or diocese to file for bankruptcy protection as a result of the costs of clergy sexual-abuse lawsuits since 2004. The others are: the Milwaukee and Portland archdioceses; and the dioceses of San Diego; Spokane; Davenport, Iowa; Tucson; Fairbanks; Wilmington, Delaware; and Gallup, New Mexico.

Papal Visit to US in 2015? Pope Francis has expressed an intention to make a visit to the United States in September 2015, according to Vatican sources who spoke to National Catholic Reporter on background. The sources said the trip has not been officially announced yet, and no dates have been set. As a rule, the Vatican does not confirm the dates of papal trips until shortly before they occur. The primary motive for the trip would be the eighth edition of the World Meeting of Families, an event held every three years. The dates for next year’s meeting in Philadelphia are September 22-27. There is speculation that the trip might also include a stop at the Unted Nations in New York. A St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

Renew Your Spirit Silent Compassion Finding God in Contemplation

Silent Compassion Richard Rohr at the Festival of Faiths

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Richard Rohr, O.F.M.

In Silent Compassion: Finding God in Contemplation, Richard Rohr focuses on finding God in the depths of silence and shares that divine silence is more than the absence of noise. Silence has a life of its own, in which we are invited into its living presence, wholeness of being, and the peace it brings. Item #B36757 | ISBN 978-1-61636-757-2 | $12.99 Audiobook: Item #A36769 | ISBN: 978-1-61636-769-5 | 4 CDs | $29.99

Christ Our Compass Making Moral Choices

Richard Rohr was selected as one of a small group of “world renowned experts on contemplative practice and compassion” to speak at a May 2013 interfaith event in Louisville, Kentucky, which featured His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Rohr served as the principal Christian presence—others represented Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism—to speak on the search for God in contemplation, which leads to action that benefits humanity. DVD Item #D36795 | ISBN: 978-1-61636-795-4 4 discs $29.99

Celebrate New Saints Pope John Paul II A Short Biography

Alfred McBride, O.Praem. Making good, moral choices should not be difficult, says Father Al McBride in this thoughtful book. In Christ Our Compass, he focuses on the moral teachings of the Church as found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, emphasizing throughout that at the heart of these teachings is the love of God for humankind. Christ Our Compass is a practical, faith-filled look at living rightly. Item #B36711 | ISBN 978-1-61636-711-4 | $13.99

Table of Plenty Good Food for Body and Spirit

Kerry Walters Karol Wojtyła, the man who became Pope John Paul II, was a poet, philosopher, playwright, peacemaker, and political activist. The most widely traveled of all popes, he was a man of deep Christian love and commitment who balanced the traditions of the Church with a need to reestablish it as a viable and modern presence in the world. This is a book to be enjoyed and treasured as we witness the recognition given John Paul II as a saint for our times. Item #B36749 | ISBN 978-1-61636-749-7 | $4.99

Susan Muto Muto emphasizes the importance of taking time to slow down and savor the cooking process as well as our meals. The recipes she provides are easy to do, using ingredients that are readily available and simple to prepare. Whether you are a novice cook, highly experienced, or just enjoy good food, this book will bring you to a new understanding of the gift we share when we take the time to eat well. Item #B36687 | ISBN 978-1-61636-687-2 | $15.99 Audiobook: Item #A36771 | ISBN: 978-1-61636-771-8 | 5 CDs | $24.99

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The Life of a Modern

Hermit

Inspired by St. Clare, Marsha Muzzarelli spends her days in prayer and solitude at her home in Kentucky. TEXT BY DAVID REEVES PHOTOS BY TONY TRIBBLE

F YOU SAW Marsha Muzzarelli at Mass or in the market, your first thought would not be “hermit.” It probably would be “classy lady.” She has the warm smile and graceful bearing of a successful businesswoman, which, in fact, she was. Her short, stylish brunette hair is tinted with red, framing a pretty, oval face. Although she does not conjure the usual image of a hermit, Marsha experienced a conversion in 1998 that led her to that lifestyle, far from the secular world, living a simpler life devoted to prayer. The Christian religion has a long tradition of hermits—men and women who live a solitary life for spiritual reasons—beginning with the legendary third-century St. Anthony of Egypt and continuing to the 20th-century’s most famous hermit, Thomas Merton, of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. Marsha lives near Gethsemani in a newly constructed hermitage, made of beige stucco. 16 ❘ March 2014

She designed the home herself, patterning it after San Damiano, the famous monastery of Clare of Assisi. Set far back from the country road leading to the nearby monastery, Marsha’s house is shielded from the curious by a privacy fence. The chapel is the center of Marsha’s home, as God is the center of her life. The chapel is made of white, handmade Lorraine brick, complete with an altar, relics, a lectern, three rows of pews, and the Blessed Sacrament. Marsha lives in a church, like a modern anchoress. This is palpably a sacred space. The other rooms—bedroom, kitchen/dining, living room, utility room, and sewing room (which is really a balcony overlooking the chapel)—are small and tastefully furnished. Marsha says she is a cradle Catholic who had a conversion experience. At the time she was a wealthy single mom, twice divorced, living in a 6,000-square-foot home with maids, a limousine, and a chauffeur. “The only thing I didn’t have was a butler,” she says, laughing. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

“My fiancé noticed the change immediately,” she says. Shortly thereafter, they went their separate ways, and he never tried to contact her again. Then came the real turning point of Marsha’s life.

The Face of Christ

(Above) The chapel is patterned after San Damiano, the monastery of St. Clare of Assisi. (Above right) Marsha spends about two and a half hours every day in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. She says it is where she gains strength.

18 ❘ March 2014

She was a corporate accountant for the family business, living the high life and dabbling in magic with her boyfriend. “I came from a family attuned to psychic phenomena,” Marsha says. “Dreams, visions, signs, and omens.” A series of disturbing events—including a house fire caused by lightning, and unexplained balls of light bouncing around her bedroom at night, which Marsha believes were ghostly visitations—led to her conversion. While browsing in a bookstore with her fiancé, she came upon a book called The Foolishness of God, chronicling the life of St. Francis of Assisi and his disciple, St. Clare. From that time on, Marsha was pulled more and more back to her Catholic roots.

Across the street from the two blocks housing her family’s business was a soup kitchen run by a local Catholic church, Marsha recalls. She resented the poor and homeless who congregated there, taking up all the parking spaces with their rattletrap cars. “A man was sitting on a step outside the soup kitchen, and he saw me carrying a large package. He asked if I needed help, and I said no. Then he said, ‘Darling, I am sorry you have to walk so far because of us.’ I thought that was an odd reply, but I continued to walk up the street,” Marsha says. “When I passed an old, beat-up parked car with its windows down, I saw a man lean over toward the open window and say to me, ‘Darling, I am sorry you have to walk so far because of us.’ He said the exact same thing the other man said. I will never forget the face of that man. In some way the face was ageless; it was glowing with so much love toward me. He smiled the most beautiful, tender smile I have ever seen. I melted. I will never forget that face, because it was Christ. Christ loved me, who was a very sinful woman.” In short order, Marsha gave up most of her responsibilities in the business, began serving in the soup kitchen, and began attending Mass daily. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

“Once you see [Christ’s] face, there’s nothing else you can do,” she says.

Making the Transition Marsha and her spiritual confessor realized she was being called to silence and solitude, but she had to fulfill her responsibilities as a mother first. Her prayer life began to flourish, and she began to spend more time with the Blessed Sacrament. Marsha’s mother and brother persecuted her, she says. “They called me neurotic and suggested I needed professional help. My mother ridiculed my conversion in front of the other employees,” Marsha says. But she persevered. Finally, with her family grown, Marsha began looking in earnest at the hermit vocation. She visited communities, read eremitic literature, and consulted her inspirations from the past, particularly the 14th-century English mystics. She even traveled to a convent in her father’s ancestral home in Italy. “I wanted to spend too much time in church, so the nuns locked me out!” she says. While visiting the famous Abbey of Gethsemani, Marsha saw a sign for a land auction. Her daughter encouraged her to go. When the bidding got too high, Marsha had to drop out. She told her story to the new owner, who let her have the land despite losing $18,000 on the deal. Fr anciscanMedia.org

Marsha found an architect to actualize her Marsha says many people design, and she moved into the hermitage in may think, “What a life— 2009, at the age of 56. Archbishop Joseph E. pray, work, eat, relax.” Kurtz of Louisville visited the hermitage and But it’s not actually like loved it, and Marsha was on track to become that, she says. “It takes a canonical hermit (a hermit officially recog- great discipline.” nized by the Catholic Church). She wrote a plan of life and an honorarium, which details her daily routine. And she requested that she be allowed to keep the Blessed Sacrament in her chapel. The archbishop granted her request. A priest from the proto-cathedral in Bardstown, Kentucky, now acts as her spiritual director, and Marsha writes the archbishop every three months detailing her practice. Click here for more Occasionally, when he visits tal Digi as information on the monastery, Marsha meets Extr hermitages. with him privately. “Everyone should be so lucky,” Marsha says. “People think, ‘What a life—pray, work, eat, relax.’ But it’s not like that. It’s not an easy life. It takes great discipline.”

The Life of a Hermit Marsha describes her typical day: “I get up at 4:15 a.m. and pray the first office in the Liturgy of the Hours. And I do the Angelus. Then I shower, eat, and drive to the March 2014 ❘ 19

ration of the Sacrament in the chapel. Adoration is where I gain strength. It’s like going to a friend and laying your heart out to them. It is the joy of my life. It’s why I live! Then a light supper of yogurt or salad—something like that. Then some exercise—working with the plants or walking. Eight o’clock is the night office. Then off to bed.”

Not without Obstacles

Part of Marsha’s daily routine is doing tasks such as sewing. She’s seen here in her sewing room, which is a balcony overlooking the chapel.

20 ❘ March 2014

monastery for the 6:15 Mass. That’s over around 7:00, and I stay in church until after the hour of Terce. Then I’m back home by 8:00 to do some clean-up. “From 9 to 10 is spiritual reading time. I have always liked the 14th-century English mystics—Walter Hilton, Julian of Norwich, and The Cloud of Unknowing. Also, maybe some Teresa of Avila or John of the Cross, and Francis and Clare. “Then from around 10:00 until 12:30 or 1:00, I work—cleaning, sewing, going to the market. Around 1:00, I pray Sext in the Liturgy of the Hours. From 1:00 to 2:00 is my main meal. At 2:00, I’ll do some Scripture reading and any additional work that has to be done. And I say the rosary every day. “I spend about two and a half hours every day, usually from about 3:00 to 5:30, in ado-

When asked what adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is like for her, Marsha pauses. In the silence, there is a kind of electrical charge in the air—an expansion of energy that fills the room. “It’s been said, and I agree, that it’s like being empty, suspended in time,” Marsha says. “Empty of self, but full of God. There is this great sense of peace in fullness.” She knows some question her lifestyle, but that does not deter her commitment. “This is a calling,” Marsha says. “It’s not for me only. I pray for the world. Sometimes I do intercessory prayer for conditions in the world. Sometimes the load becomes very heavy for me. I weep for the sorrows in the world. Their sorrow is my own. I must help, and prayer is my way of helping. That’s the gift. No one says, ‘I’m going to shut myself up, not see my grandchildren.’ It has to be a vocation that God has called you to. It’s God’s choice, and I said yes to it.” Still, there are obstacles at times, the darkness faced by all human beings. “My confessor has helped me a great deal,” Marsha says. “He is a parish priest and a doctor of ministry. He is a man of wisdom about relationships. The way I found him was a kind of miracle. I had been going to a monk at the abbey for Confession, and that wasn’t working out too well. I had been praying for God to send me a confessor, and out of the blue one day this priest called me. He’s been wonderful. “I had been carrying a lot of anger and resentment from past relationships around, and it was blocking my prayer life. He helped me work through all that—things about my mother and father and my ex-husband and his wife. He said, ‘You’ve carried this for St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

20 years. It’s time to get rid of the baggage.’ He is really into forgiveness. I have grown so much in my relationships with others. I feel a wholeness of being. “When my daughter got married, I was able to participate joyfully with my ex-husband and his new wife. Before, there would have been anger and a scene. They hadn’t changed. I had changed. God had changed me. “Anger is not a blockage in prayer now. Anything that lingers in your heart can lead to sin. Anything that comes up, I confess it right away. No more grudges.” But make no mistake: Marsha’s life is not without the same temptations all Christians experience. “Sometimes something will come up that I think I have put to rest. You can’t let down. You have to be constantly vigilant,” she says. Marsha offers advice to other Christians, regardless of their life’s path. “I try always to walk in truth and righteousness,” she says. “The world is boring.

y a z a

arsha was professed

as a canonical hermit on August

11, 2012, the feast of St. Clare. Her children, family, and friends were there to honor and support her. The vows Marsha wrote hang on the back wall of her chapel. She vowed the traditional life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In addition, she vowed patience, humility, and charity which, she says, were revealed especially to her by St. Clare.

Following Christ is an adventure. Facing yourself in silence is hard, but it’s worth it. Stick with it. Not many people do. Things get easier.” A David Reeves is a freelance writer from Nazareth, Kentucky.

y y y

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T H E S EVE N

DEADLY SINS They feed on each other, turning us toward ourselves. And they are deadly. BY LAWRENCE S. CUNNINGHAM

OMIC BOOK FANS of a certain age, as well as some recent moviegoers, will remember that Billy Batson (a.k.a. Captain Marvel) was led into a disused subway tunnel where he found seven statues representing the seven enemies of humanity. He would fight those evils by invoking the mantra Shazam!, which turned him into his superhero self. Well-trained Catholics will recognize that it was the seven deadly sins that inspired Billy’s initiation into his new life. Those sins have been a staple since ancient times. How did this ancient list enter into popular culture? How did it become the vehicle for television documentaries and the subject of crime films? It started in early monasticism.

PHOTO © DIANE39/ISTOCK

Seven, the Perfect Number Truth be told, the seven deadly sins started as eight. Late in the fourth century, the monastic writer St. John Cassian wrote that the goal of the monastic life was to attain “purity of heart” because Jesus said that those of a pure Fr anciscanMedia.org

heart would “see God” (Mt 5:8). There were obstacles to purity of heart which Cassian (borrowing from an Eastern monastic writer, Evagrius of Pontus) numbered as eight: gluttony, lust, avarice, wrath, sadness, sloth, vainglory, and pride. St. John Cassian did not consider these obstacles as sins as such but, rather, as illusions, or veils. They clouded over souls, keeping them from the purity of the heart where God dwells. The ascetic life of the monk, with prayer and work, helped to cultivate virtues to overcome these illusions. In the sixth century, Pope St. Gregory the Great, himself trained as a monk, knew this tradition, but he changed the list to seven by combining a few and adding one (vainglory went into pride; sadness into sloth; he added envy). The list took its current form: pride, envy, sloth, avarice, wrath, lust, and gluttony. It was Gregory who called them capital (from the Latin caput—head) sins because from these sins all other sins derive. Due to Gregory’s influence, seven became the norm. There is no such list of these sins in the March 2014 ❘ 23

These 1911 sculptures, surrounding the pulpit of St. Bartholomew Parish in Reichenthal, Austria, serve as a vivid warnings against the seven deadly sins (l to r): pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth.

The Seven Deadly Sins

Pride Avarice Envy Wrath Lust Gluttony Sloth

Bible, nor is the list a matter of doctrine. Nonetheless, the number seven has a longlasting cachet among theologians and writers. It has often been juxtaposed to other sevens in sermons and theological treatises: the seven sacraments, the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, the seven penitential psalms, seven petitions of the beatitudes, and so on. Dante, in his Divine Comedy, from the Middle Ages, organized the Mount of Purgatory into seven terraces which, beginning with pride, the sinful mounted to expiate their sins and to learn of their opposing virtues. Dante noted that the climbers found themselves lighter as they ascended.

Sin vs. Psychology

What are we to make of this list and its significance? Some contemporary commentators (there is a surprisingly large literature on the —Catechism of the topic) have argued that these vices are too Catholic Church individualistic. They argue for some list of social evils, such as racism. Others, by contrast, have noted that these social evils all are rooted in the traditional seven deadly sins. Then there’s the way our language has changed—we often hear very benign meanings attached to some of these words. For example, we use Click here for more on the words such as pride or envy in l a t Digi as seven deadly sins. perfectly good senses. Irish (or Extr Polish or black) pride may refer only to a harmless affirmation of one’s heritage. Similarly, we may speak of somebody’s garden as the “envy of the neighborhood” with no malign intention. We tend to psychologize sin in our highly therapeutic culture. We talk about anger management or argue, as some have done when it comes to making money, that greed is good. 24 ❘ March 2014

We may insist that low self-esteem can be cured by the cultivation of self-pride, or that gluttony calls only for a good 12-step program. In each of these cases there are good intentions and helpful roads to betterment, but they do not quite touch on the deep meaning of sin, as we Catholics understand it.

Sin’s Poisonous Power Anger makes a good case study. The Bible clearly describes God’s anger in places. We also know that Jesus became angry enough to make a whip of cords to drive money lenders from the Temple. Furthermore, there are times when anger seems not only appropriate, but demanded. Who has not felt anger in the face of rank injustice? And who has not felt anger erupting from deep inside, even for seemingly trivial reasons? Of course, there is a very clear distinction between feeling angry and being an angry person. Anger is an all-too-human emotion, but being an angry person persistently is a form of pathology. That persistent anger is the spiritual condition to be avoided. The early monastic writers considered anger to be one of the worst of the deadly sins. “You are not to act in anger nor hold a grudge,” warns St. Benedict in his Rule. These writers understood that an angry person was a kind of poison in a community. They also knew that if anger is held in, it acts like a cancer in a person’s soul. Everyone knows that such anger is extremely destructive. Who does not know of families where Uncle X refuses to speak to Aunt Y, or of families driven apart from long-standing pain caused by long-ago acts or omissions? The media provide us with almost daily examples of such venomous anger erupting into violence and mayhem. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

Each of these sins, in its own way, exalts the self at the expense of others. There is an old Latin tag about sin that describes sin as incurvatus in se, “turning in on the self.” It is a shorthand way of saying, that, for example, the sin of pride is an exaltation of the self without recognition of the other. In a different way, greed or gluttony rewards the self and ignores the other. Being turned toward the self in this way is a failure of love. Jesus famously tells us that the supreme commandment is to love God with our whole heart and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves (he’s drawing, of course, on Hebrew Scripture). That commandment contains a triangular command: to love God above all, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. If we think about that dynamic for a moment, it becomes clear that the seven deadly sins are not merely social mores. Gluttony ought not to be linked with obesity, but, rather, with personal selfishness. Envy is not the same as aspiring to the wealth, looks, or social status of another; but, rather, with a seething anger at the other person (yes, these sins feed on each other). Sinful pride is the sheer resistance to the value of the other. Love, by contrast, is that enlarging force by which we extend beyond ourselves to be grateful to God and generous to one another. To be a racist, to be a despoiler of the earth, to acquire at the expense of the other, to turn away from the needs of the other—all of these are celebration of the self independently of others. They are a turning away from God and neighbor.

thought to be outdated, a carryover from the medieval world. Then, the very word sin seems to be too weak to bear enough moral freight, when we consider what awful things are done today. Think 9/11. However, to say in the Bible that someone has sinned is to say that someone has “missed the mark” (the root meaning of sin), and the mark is to be fully human. Sin, in that sense, is a condition in which we fail to flourish in a fully human way. We are made in the image and likeness of God. Our choices that turn us away from our fullest humanity make us restlessly unsatisfied. Thomas Merton once wrote that there is nothing interesting about sin: “Sin as such is essentially boring because it is the lack of something . . . ” (New Seeds of Contemplation). Behind Merton’s paradox is the insight of St. Augustine, who opens his Confessions with his great line that God has made us for himself and “our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” What the old monastic writers knew in a deep way is that all of the following are false paths: our attempts to satisfy ourselves inordinately, to alienate ourselves from others by anger or envy, to isolate ourselves totally in our smug superiority. They knew instinctively what we learn only in mature reflection, namely, that to turn away from the isolation of the self and to turn toward the other is to love. That love gives us the way of loving God. St. John of the Cross said it perfectly, so I will give him the last word: “In the evening of our lives, we will be examined in love.” A

The Seven Virtues

Prudence Justice Fortitude Temperance Faith Hope Charity —Catechism of the Catholic Church

Missing the Mark Perhaps the reason that sin today may not be taken so seriously is because we’ve reduced sin to psychological deviancy. The problem is exacerbated because our seven deadly sins are Fr anciscanMedia.org

Lawrence S. Cunningham is John A. O’Brien Professor of Theology (Emeritus) at the University of Notre Dame. His latest book is The Seven Deadly Sins: A Visitor’s Guide (Ave Maria Press). March 2014 ❘ 25

SHORT TAKE

A Scent Story BY BRIAN DOYLE

OU KNOW what no one talks about when they talk about the Mass? The panoply of scents, the plethora of sensory adventures through the doors of your nose, the layered and complex and lovely subtle messages you smell in Mass. For instance: the sweet, intricate tendrils of incense, and the cheerfully dank aura of raincoats, moist jackets, and dripping umbrellas by the door; the faint talcum-powdery smell of the three babies in attendance; the sharp, abrupt smell of matches and lighters as candles are lit; the ancient, dignified redolence of the wooden walls and the wooden organ and the wooden pews; the faintest hint of mothballs, incense, and cigar smoke as Father sails up the aisle like a battleship draped in layers of linen and cotton; the deep tang of the wine and sturdy, floury tastelessness of the wafer; the leathery, friendly aftershave smell of your neighbor as he shakes your hand; the sweet blast of perfume from your other neighbor as she shakes your hand; and the shaggy, musky, popcornish teenager scents as you hug your lanky sons, not fully awake yet; and the coolest scent of all— the honey-cinnamon-iris-coffee-beach scent of your lovely and mysterious bride, as you kiss her, yes, kiss her, right in the middle of Mass, before all these people, because you wish her well, and you wish her peace, and she somehow got the boys out of bed and into the car. You do not know how, but here you all are in the pew, smelling the hundred miraculous smells that have so much to do with the deep pleasure and savor of the Mass. Such as: the happy, oily reek of doughnuts stacked in the lobby, awaiting attack from children who come in waves the second Father sails past them on his way down the aisle, so that he appears to be followed by a troop of children bouncing behind him like brightly colored balls; and the blunt, workmanlike scent of coffee in urns that appear to have been purchased from the Defense Department after the First World War; and the bookish,

dusty, serious smell of the tiny library of missals and spiritual literature and songbooks and even, God bless me, the collected works of Anton Chekhov for some reason; and the scent of the vast, moist copse of cedar trees across the street, a scent that blows through the lobby like a tide whenever someone opens the door of the church; and the incomprehensible, trustworthy, graceful scent of Father as he shakes hands and hugs children by the door; he smells like grandfathers and apples, as one of my small Sunday school students once said. And indeed he does.

Sometimes we need to stop and smell the fragrances at Mass.

CNS PHOTO/DON BLAKE, THE DIALOG

26 ❘ March 2014

The Joy of Our Surroundings

The Mass is a work of quotidian genius in so many gentle human ways, and for all we laud and bow at the miracle in it, perhaps the deeper miracle even than the quiet guest who arrives midway is the sweet shuffling, redolent gathering itself—the miracle of it. We collect, we rise and subside, we sing and chant, we tell stories at the table around the meal, we shake hands and kiss and hug and laugh. The scents and sounds and touches braid and weave and stitch something quietly astounding, every day, in a thousand languages, all over the world. For that, this morning, with the scents of rain and cedar and babies and cigars and aftershave and cinnamon and sweat and coffee and apples and trust in my nose, I say thanks. A

Brian Doyle is the editor of Portland Magazine at the University of Portland, Oregon. He is the author of many books, among them the sprawling Oregon novel Mink River and Grace Notes, a collection of spiritual essays, published by ACTA Publications.

Click here for more on the sights and sounds at Church.

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Soon after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the central Philippines, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was on a plane, carrying a promise of solidarity from American Catholics.

We Haven’t ForgottenYou BY JUDY BALL

T PHOTOS © CRS: GIRLS BY JENNIFER HARDY, CALLAHAN AND MCCARRICK BY KENT TRUOG

HIS IS A STORY of heartache and triumph, of grief and heroism, of struggle and survival. Through it all, it’s a story of faith. The story began unfolding on November 8, 2013, when a typhoon tore through the central Philippines, its raging rains and estimated 200-mph winds leaving thousands dead, missing, or injured. (Recently estimated figures suggest 6,000 dead, 1,800 missing, and 30,000 injured.) Within hours, even minutes, homes were destroyed and family members were brutally separated from one another. Little was left standing in those areas that were worst hit. Typhoon Haiyan, as it came to be called, is believed to be the strongest storm ever to make landfall. The TV footage and photos that appeared online and in print told the sickening story without words as they depicted miles of rubble, dead bodies, shredded clothing, overturned cars, floating refrigerators. Also in the mix were children’s toys eerily untouched by the storm. It was tempting to turn away from the horrid images, to try to shake off the unimaginable realities of people halfway around the world and turn to pleasant thoughts.

Called to Action Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, DC, had no such reaction. Instead of averting his glance, he headed into the heart of the wreckage. Within days of the typhoon, the 83-year-old prelate, a member of the board of directors of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), was on a flight to the PhilipFr anciscanMedia.org

pines. He traveled with Sean Callahan, the agency’s chief operating officer. “It was a visit of solidarity to the Church and the people of the Philippines,” Cardinal McCarrick told St. Anthony Messenger shortly after his return from a weeklong visit to see CRS in

(Opposite page) Eightyear-old Fiona May Bacalzo and her cousin Jhanehycinth Navarrosa (13) wait for relief supplies near the center of the storm damage, in Palo, Philippines.

action and reassure the people. “They all suffered much trauma. We wanted to be able to assure them that we hadn’t forgotten them and that we were going to pull out all the stops and do everything we could for them.” A veteran of such trips for CRS (crs.org) with a stack of expired passports to prove it, Cardinal McCarrick called the damage from Typhoon Haiyan “about the worst I’ve ever seen.” On a scale of 1 to 10, “this was probably a nine or 10.” That’s why the chance to see CRS spring into action in the Philippines, where it has had a presence since 1945 (initially as War Relief Services), was so important to him. After landing in Tokyo and then going on to Manila,

(Left) Cardinal McCarrick arrives with Catholic Relief Services Chief Operating Officer (and former field worker) Sean Callahan at the partially destroyed Tacloban City Airport.

March 2014 ❘ 29

CRS, a program of US Catholics, has a sister organization, Caritas Internationalis, a worldwide network of Catholic relief agencies. The two work together in many locations. (Right) CRS staffer Ross Tomlinson hands out tarps at CRS/Caritas Norway distribution center for 700 emergency shelters and partially destroyed homes (above) in Palo.

30 ❘ March 2014

where he met its cardinal, Luis Antonio Tagle, he sat in on emergency agency meetings. The questions were focused on the essentials: Where is the worst damage? What are the people’s key needs? How can we meet those needs as quickly and efficiently as possible? CRS’s emergency experts scattered all over the world had immediately made their way to the Philippines after the typhoon struck, ready to lend their

expertise and work alongside staff based there. What they confronted was a logistical nightmare, even for the most experienced relief worker. Typhoon Haiyan had destroyed an estimated half-million homes, with more than one million shelters significantly damaged. Electricity was out; gasoline, food, and safe drinking water were hard to find; roads were closed or accessible only on foot. And all this in an already impoverished area of the world. As the days passed—and the rains returned, adding to the misery—Catholic Relief Services’ time-tested expertise paid off. Tents served as temporary shelter. Thousands of strong plastic tarps for emergency shelter, flown in from a manufacturer in Pakistan, were being distributed in Palo, Ormoc, and Tolosa on the island of Leyte, a scene Cardinal McCarrick was able to witness personally. Water and sanitation kits, including soap and water-purification tablets, made their way to the people. Water supplies were trucked in once the municipal water source was restored. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

The super typhoon is gone, the tropical sky is beautiful, but there are years of recovery ahead. In the girl’s bucket is a CRS-provided bag of rice— food for recovery.

Where possible, CRS staff and volunteers helped locals learn how to salvage portions of their former homes and showed them how to rebuild structures that are more durable and can resist the wind and rain. Sadly, the Philippine Islands—located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”—are vulnerable to typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. More suffering in the form of natural disasters seems certain, especially as storms seem to be growing in intensity.

Ministering to Those Affected How did Cardinal McCarrick, a native of New York City, feel seeing such suffering up close? Was there any way he could prepare himself for a trip that was sure to bring him face-to-face with people who have lost everything, including family members? It helps that he has considerable foreign-language skills, including fluency in French, German, Italian, and Spanish, but why does he continue to put himself in the midst of such suffering? “You just have to go, and so you Fr anciscanMedia.org

go,” says the prelate who served dioceses in New York and New Jersey before serving as archbishop of Washington, DC, from 2001 to 2006. “You know that you’re going to meet people who have suffered very much and who are still hurting.” Encounters with the people can be delicate and difficult to negotiate, especially so close to a traumatic event, as with his post-Typhoon Haiyan trip. Key, he says, is doing much more listening than talking. “You listen to the Lord and you listen to the people.” With youngsters, he has observed, things can quickly change. One minute they may be talking about “the silly little things that fill their day until you ask them about the typhoon. If they lost a mother or father or siblings,” their mood changes. “It’s too soon for them. They are still trying to figure what happened to their family, their house, the land they lived on.” By contrast, he continues, adults have a better understanding of the trauma they have experienced, but they, too, need time.

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Palo’s Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, built in 1596 and still standing, is a center of cultural identity. Now it’s literally a “field hospital,” where the recovered dead, too, are brought for blessing. Soon after the typhoon Cardinal McCarrick led a Mass here for the grieving community.

Six days after the storm, this girl plays in the only clearing—a main road.

He recalls his encounter with a woman whose child was ripped from her arms at the height of the storm and never seen again. The guilt she felt at not being able to hold on to her child was not unique to her, he realizes. Meanwhile, others he met “were still hoping their loved ones were around, but gradually, as time goes by, the realization will set in that, in many cases, they’re buried under the rubble.” But in a Catholic country like the Philippines, Cardinal McCarrick says, right alongside “the horrible sadness and grief, you’re always going to encounter a vital faith. These poor peo32 ❘ March 2014

ple have suffered so much, but how really wonderful it is that the Lord is there with them and has given them the courage to continue to trust in him.” They believe “that God still cares for them. They know that God hasn’t deserted them —and they haven’t walked away from him. “These are people of wonderful, deep, and strong faith. And that’s what helps them in these terrible moments.” It’s part of their culture, too. “These are not people who are going to sit back and give up. They’ve seen storms, though not like this, in the past. And they pick up afterward and try. While there I found a lot of people willing to help their neighbor.”

Gathering for Worship Surely one of the highlights from the cardinal’s November trip to the Philippines was the Mass he celebrated at the cathedral in Palo, one of the areas most badly hit. The archbishop of Palo,

whose house was almost totally destroyed, had to relocate to the major city of Cebu. His cathedral also sustained serious damage—two-thirds of its roof was lost, its gigantic marble altar was lifted right up and moved about 10 yards—but herculean efforts were undertaken to clear away rubble and prepare the building so that Cardinal McCarrick could gather the people to celebrate Mass there. Word spread about the liturgy. As he stood at a makeshift altar flanked by the archbishop of Palo and the archbishop of Cebu, Cardinal McCarrick looked out on a congregation of 500 people stuffed into a roofless cathedral that was as close to spic-and-span as humanly possible. He realized that in the congregation were unknown numbers of families who had lost members. Instead of the father carrying the little ones in his arms, he saw that it was the older brother who was now assuming that parental privilege. As Mass began, the rains returned. Once again, as they had so often in life, the members of the congregation lifted up their hearts in prayer and song. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

The opportunity to experience firsthand the ongoing work of Catholic Relief Services leaves Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick with a deep sense of privilege. He is deeply grateful for the opportunities he has had to see CRS at work in, among other places over the decades, El Salvador, Ghana, Sarajevo, and many parts of the Middle East such as Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, and Lebanon. Wherever he goes, he is touched by the people and impressed by the work that CRS is doing on-site, whether it is offering disaster relief or focusing more on long-term development work. “Wherever they ask me to go, I go.” Sometimes his travels have found him in unexpected territory not directly connected with CRS. In September 2011, working with

CNS PHOTO/ALESSANDRO BIANCHI, REUTERS

‘Wherever They Ask Me to Go, I Go’

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Episcopal and Muslim leaders, Cardinal McCarrick helped effect the release of two hikers from the United States who had been arrested in Iran in 2009. (A third hiker was released earlier for health reasons.) After many long months, which included Cardinal McCarrick and the other religious leaders meeting with then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, they celebrated the two young hikers’ return to the United States. The agreement reached was a step forward for issues long important to the cardinal: social justice, world peace, and interfaith relations. Today, he lives in retirement in Washington with a religious com-

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Once again, a resilient people demonstrated the power of their faith in the midst of crisis. For the cardinal, the experience was “a real blessing.”

Looking Back, Looking Forward As he thinks back to the handful of days he spent in the Philippines, Cardinal McCarrick remembers—he could never forget—the overwhelming odds facing the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

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Click here for more information on CRS and the situation in the Philippines.

He remembers what he saw: heartache and triumph, grief and heroism, struggle and survival. Most of all, he remembers the profound faith that sustains the Filipino people. From the way things look now, significant recovery from Typhoon Haiyan is years away. “Right off we have to plan for three years out,” he

says. “It will take that long until we rebuild what has to be rebuilt so the people can go on with their lives and put things together.” Would he like to return and see how things are progressing? His “Yes!” is quick and convincing. “I’d love to return because the people are so good and were so gracious to me. I would love to go back and see how they are doing, to offer again the solidarity of the Church in the United States and of Catholic Relief Services. I’d love to be able to let them know we’re still here; we’re still looking at how we can help. It’s so important for them to know they haven’t been forgotten.” If he returns, would he like to celebrate Mass again at the cathedral at Palo? “Yes, and maybe have a little more of the roof repaired in case it’s raining!” he teases.

from the people in the pew, he has an ally in Pope Francis, who immediately called attention to the tragedy in the Philippines, offered his own support, “and asked us all to be generous in trying to help the people.” Catholic Relief Services itself immediately committed $20 million of its funds to help the people “with the hope and the assurance that the Catholic people throughout the country, and other governments and agencies, would help. That’s a lot of money,” says Cardinal McCarrick, “but we felt we had to do that. We have to make sure that we did the best we could to put the people back on their feet again.” Meanwhile, he also trusts that members of the Catholic community, in particular, will continue to hold the people of the Philippines in their hearts—just as he does. A

A Powerful Network of Help

Judy Ball is a widely published freelance writer and editor from Cincinnati, Ohio. She has an MEd in guidance and counseling and an MA in humanities from Xavier University in Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, as Cardinal McCarrick tries to spread the word about CRS and the importance of ongoing financial aid

POETRY Poem for Spring’s Return

Eternity

The Monarch

Advancing across the landscape, Spring, Wearing brightest green, With an extended gift Of lilac— Weaving a festive scene.

The hourglass: Top and Bottom Filled with Now

The chrysalis droops, Transparent, nondescript, A timed container Of a precious surprise.

A bluebird’s flash of wing, Warm wind Moves apple bough, Mood of promise and rebirth— Lingering mood Of celebration now.

—William Beyer

—George E. Shultz

Joseph’s Coat Wearing a rainbow, His heart danced In his father’s Gift of love. It turned on the world for him. Jealous brothers Did not matter. God was in The many-colored Coat with him.

Head down, Struggling, shivering, He sheds his waxy vase, Revealing a puzzle, Orange and black. Patiently he waits. Soon, the morning sun Speeds the unfolding Of his winged splendor.

—Eileen M. Sullivan

—Marion Schoeberlein 34 ❘ March 2014

St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

EDITORIAL

Bullying: Not Just a Kid Problem Bullying is an epidemic in which we all play a role.

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Whenever the subject of bullying comes up, most people automatically think of kids, playgrounds, and sports fields. They don’t automatically think of adults. And they certainly don’t think of football players, business executives, or parents. But maybe they should. Adult bullying made the headlines this past October when Miami Dolphins player Jonathan Martin left the team after claiming he was the victim of bullying by fellow teammate Richie Incognito. Despite evidence to support Martin’s claim, players throughout the league expressed support for Incognito, accusing Martin of breaking the locker-room code, and saying he should have been able to stand up for himself. But does any of that make it OK? Whether it’s a 200-pound football player or a 90-pound student, bullying is never OK. I’ve heard the arguments that kids these days are too sensitive, that bullying has always been around, and that kids need to learn to deal with it on their own. But if there is one kid who can’t deal with it, then what? According to a study by Yale University, victims of bullying are between two and nine times more likely to consider suicide than are nonvictims. Statistics Click here for more reported by ABC on bullying. News show that nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying.

Searching for Answers Numerous programs have been put into place to counter bullying—most aimed at younger people. In fact, if you Google “bullying programs,” you will get 60 pages of programs, tips, stories, and commentary on Fr ancisca n Media .org

the topic. All of these programs are genuinely searching for answers to this. Yet it still continues. If you asked adults if they were bullies, most would probably say no. But they might not think twice about telling a mean-spirited joke or pulling a prank at someone’s expense, all with the disclaimer that it was just in good fun. But that rationalization doesn’t fly. Kids are acting on what they see. Parents are notorious for attacking referees at sporting events. Or perhaps they carelessly rant about a variety of people in front of either their own children or others. On the work front, someone can talk about a coworker behind his or her back, leading to rumors or harassment. What if bosses or fellow workers continually demean or demoralize an employee? How about when people spew racial slurs and hatred? Isn’t that all bullying? Such actions go against the very foundation of our faith: that God created and loves every one of us, weak or strong.

What to Do? I’m not naïve enough to think that bullying will go away overnight. But perhaps if we change our mindset, we can make some headway. During a visit to a homeless shelter in Rome last May, Pope Francis spoke of the dignity of the human person: “To love God and neighbor is not something abstract, but profoundly concrete: it means seeing in every person the face of the Lord to be served, to serve him concretely. And you are, dear brothers and sisters, the face of Jesus.” Stop and take some time to remember that each of us is made in the image of God. Next time you think about demeaning someone else—especially in front of others—stop and remember that. Maybe we should start from the bottom up. While we may think of bullying as an epidemic among young people, it’s not. They’re learning it somewhere. We all could benefit from a long look at our own behavior. —Susan Hines-Brigger M a rch 2 0 1 4 ❘ 3 5

The Long Good-bye Faith helped this mother and daughter face dementia together. BY JULIE BASQUE

M Harvey and Barbara Hodson are pictured with their daughter Julie Basque at their assisted living facility in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, June 15, 2013.

36 ❘ March 2014

ANY OF US have had the unfortunate experience of watching a loved one with dementia decline cognitively. We often hear how the family responds in terms of their grief and loss, but less from the person who has the disease. Can there be any meaning or purpose in living with dementia? Does having a strong faith help in any way? When I ask my mother what losses she has experienced since the diagnosis of her dementia, she readily replies,

“I have lost confidence in myself. I used to be able to trust myself, but now I might say the wrong thing and embarrass myself. You do something dumb, you know it, and you feel like a fool.” Her candid response shocks me. What else might she be feeling? What other assumptions have I inadvertently made? My mother’s dementia was diagnosed when she was 85 years old. She became confused on her familiar ride home from daily Mass. She was never good with directions. Now, two years later, just remembering if she should turn right or left to enter a particular room can confuse her. But what is this mysterious disease? Dementia is a general term that describes a brain syndrome characterized by problems with memory, judgment, language, orientation, and executive functioning. Statistically, half of us who live to be 85 will have some form of dementia. My mother has been incredibly brave and open about her condition, often using me to help her process what has been happening to her. Mom wants to know what to expect going forward and wants to know her St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

PHOTOS BY GREGORY L. TRACY

role in this situation. She also poses a more difficult question: “How does a person who has dementia die?” My father, 85, lives with her in an apartment in an independent living facility in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. They have the independence of their own apartment—with the convenience of a hot meal every night in their dining facility. He sees his role as his wife’s caretaker, helping her to feel secure in their home. My sisters and I live near them; my three brothers live out of state.

Finding Respect Finding meaning amid loss is a deep desire among those who grieve. Having a strong foundation of faith can help. Mom has always relied on her faith. Several years ago, right before the onset of her dementia, she was hospitalized for atrial fibrillation. As she lay on her stretcher in the emergency room, one of the doctors wished to Fr anciscanMedia.org

ascertain if my mother wanted a “do not resuscitate” order. He very directly asked, “So, if your heart stops, do you want us to come into your room and pound on your chest and stick you with needles to try to bring you back?” At the time I wanted to jump in and throttle the doctor. This was my mother! Her response was calm and direct. “I want you to know, doctor, that I have a very deep faith and a strong belief in the afterlife. So if you are telling me that if Jesus were to come for me unexpectedly while I am here in the hospital, would I want to go with him? The answer would be, ‘Yes.’”

Craving Connection When I ask what helps her most in dealing with her dementia, my mother replies, “My family helping me, showing me deference. To be with people I know.” I ask my father what helps him in his

role as husband and caretaker. “It helps me when I see people whom she loves loving her,” he says. We think of dementia and loss as “the long good-bye.” The family, over time, loses the richness of the relationship with the one who has dementia. The person who is ill loses the ability to cognitively make sense of the world around him or her. Connection is still possible and often craved, but the way of the connection becomes less verbal and articulate. We are made to connect with one another. In a loss resulting from a sudden death, the world as we know it is shattered. With dementia, that world develops a thin crack—which slowly widens over time. We are not shattered immediately, but we feel the pain nonetheless. People who are grieving need an opportunity to express their innermost feelings. They need to validate their sense of being. They need to revise March 2014 ❘ 37

Rooted in Faith According to Father Terence P. Curley in Peace Beyond Understanding: Consoling One Another, “Our losses have to be placed into a context that provides meaning and ways to sort things out amidst all of the chaos. This context is the context of faith.” My mother can still find meaning in her dementia, given her history of deep faith. She describes her spiritual life as different now that she has dementia. “I am more detached now,” she says. “I am more detached and looking forward to heaven. I believe God wants to save more people on earth, so he would like to have some redemptive suffering.

PHOTO BY GREGORY L. TRACY

their world and come to a new purpose in life. They long to find peace. Those who want to help someone who is experiencing a loss need to journey with them. My father’s life companion can no longer accompany him exactly the same way that she has for the last 50 years, now that she has dementia. My mother’s life companion now interacts with her differently, with the relationship mirroring more of a parent-child relationship instead of a husband-wife relationship. Can those of us in my parents’ lives be a Simon of Cyrene, helping each of them carry their respective crosses?

Barbara now finds comfort in the familiar: spending time with her husband, and sharing a weekly dinner with her children.

Can we help them with our presence? My mother finds comfort in the familiar—she wants to be surrounded by family. She does not relish meeting new people as she used to, yet she loves to have my sisters and me join her and my father regularly on Monday nights for dinner. My father finds comfort in watching others love my mother. He tells me he prays for patience daily and that he needs to keep my mother’s world peaceful. His goal is her contentment, her happiness. 38 ❘ March 2014

(My father) tells me he prays for patience daily and that he needs to keep my mother’s world peaceful.

If my suffering with dementia can help someone, what a wonderful outcome that would be!” The search for meaning or purpose when one is dealing with dementia can feel futile, yet Mom’s response is humbling. Her faith is able to give her a context to understand her current situation. “Faith informs us about our lives and how they are in the light of eternity,” she says. Mom believes in uniting her suffering to Jesus’ suffering, thus making it redemptive. She comments further that she feels fortunate that dementia does not hurt. It is not a cancer. She shares with me the comfort she felt when her primary-care gerontologist took her aside one day in her office. “Barbara, don’t be too concerned with this diagnosis because you will not suffer too much,” she said. “It is actually the family who suffers much more.” Yet how does one find overall purpose given the lack of cognitive independence? Is there still purpose in the life of one who has become so limited cognitively? When asked what her purpose in life might be right now, my mother responds, “God wants me to listen to his people. People like to talk. I can be one who listens. “One time,” she continues, “when I was at dinner, this blind woman needed someone to listen to her. I listened and reminded her that God really loved her. I think she needed that.” My mother shares even more with me regarding how she experiences her relationship with God now. “God is very tender toward me,” she says. “Little problems in my life seem to be solved without my even asking God. I feel as though Jesus is looking out for me. I am closer to God. I am less fearful.” Her response is indicative of her unwavering faith. My sister Patty often states that Mom’s faith is very childlike and trusting. Ironically, it was trust in herself that she lost once she was diagnosed with dementia. Yet, it is trust in God that seems to be sustaining her now. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JULIE BASQUE

Barbara, pictured here with her six children, provided a safe and happy environment for them.

Treat Us Normally

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and having the same conversation. The dignity of the human person is always to be upheld. What greater dignity is there than to feel normal despite our illnesses, our losses, and our limitations? A

Click here for more on dementia.

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Julie Basque is a wife, mother, and student at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts. She is the sixth of seven children.

Warning Signs of Dementia According to the Mayo Clinic, if you suspect a loved one is showing signs of dementia, a doctor should be consulted right away. Some medical conditions can cause dementia symptoms, so it’s important that a doctor determine what the underlying causes are.

Common signs and symptoms include: • Memory loss • Difficulty communicating • Difficulty with planning and organizing • Difficulty with coordination and motor functions • Problems with disorientation • Personality changes • Inability to reason • Inappropriate behavior • Paranoia • Hallucinations

March 2014 ❘ 39

PHOTO BY GREGORY L. TRACY

My mother seems to take pleasure in sharing with me her thoughts on meaning, purpose, and her perspective on the afterlife. She’s even open to talking about her wishes once she has died. Mom readily answers that she wants to be waked in the church. She then specifies flowers that are important to her—especially roses. She wants the funeral liturgy itself to be simple and spiritual. Her only request for music is “Ave Maria,” her father’s favorite hymn. I then share with her that it is often at the time of the funeral that younger family members really tune in and hear the wisdom and faith of their loved one who has just died. I venture one last question with my mom. I ask if she could convey what is most important in interacting with someone with dementia, what she would suggest. Her response is simple, yet poignant: “Treat them normally. Not like a freak.” Is my mother unique in her openness in talking about her losses associated with dementia? She may well be. When ministering to others who are grieving, it is important to follow their lead in terms of what might be helpful. Mom seemed open and even delighted in discussing some of the more personal questions about her dementia. This may not have been true if it were my father who was diagnosed

The family poses during a holiday celebration. Three of Barbara’s children live out of state. The other three live close-by.

My Return to CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER

Faith BY MARTIN SHEEN

RIDAY, MAY 1, was a national holiday in France similar to our Labor Day in the United States. I woke up late beneath the skylight in my attic suite of the Hotel Lenox and somehow, I knew: This is it. Today is the day.

40 ❘ March 2014

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church near the Arc de Triomphe on the Avenue Hoche is a parish run by the Irish Passionists, serving Englishspeaking Catholics in Paris. In fact, it is the only English-speaking church in all of France. American embassy personnel and other expats from the United States, Britain, and elsewhere, including a large number of Filipinos, make up the congregation. The first week I was in Paris, before I moved to the Hotel Lenox, I’d stop there occasionally for Mass or to light a candle. After I moved to the Hotel Lenox, I went to Saint-Germain-desPrés often, touching the edges of Catholicism, but not quite ready to step back in. On May 1, [1981], I walked the three miles from the Hotel Lenox to St. Joseph’s Church as a form of pilgrimage. And when I arrived at the church around noon, I banged on the front doors with urgency and purpose. No answer. I banged again, harder this time. Still no answer. Well, I thought, maybe this is not the day after all. So I turned and walked back down the steps, but just as I hit the sidewalk I heard the church door swing open behind me. I turned around and there he was: the Irish priest I’d seen on my occasional visits. He was holding a napkin in one hand and he was chewing. I’d interrupted his lunch. “Yes, what is it?” he asked. He must have thought there was a riot outside from the way that I’d been banging. “Well, Father,” I said. “I’m sorry to bother you. But I haven’t been to Confession in years and I’d like to come back to the Church.” His eyes narrowed, and from his reaction, I knew I’d come to the right place. “Well,” he said. “Come back here tomorrow morning at 10:00. And don’t be late. I have a wedding at noon.” “I will,” I said. The next morning, when I walked into the church, I was the only one present. This Confession was by appointment. I’d had the last rites after having a heart attack in the Philippines and received Communion, but I couldn’t confess then because the priest spoke only Tagalog. I hadn’t been to Confession in a dozen years or so, but the process was still very familiar and, when the time came, I entered the confessional box and began. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.” Then I unburdened a heavy load from my soul. Father listened patiently and gave me some spiritual advice. Then he gave me a penance before absolution. “For your penance, say one Our Father,” he said. “One Our Father?” I asked. “Just one?” “Have you been gone so long,” asked the priest, “that you can’t remember the Our Father?” “No, I remember it.” I laughed. I just hadn’t expected the penance to be so light for someone who’d been gone as long as I had and who’d accumulated so much to confess in the interim. I left the confessional booth and sat down in a pew to reflect. I had just confessed the whole truth about the past dozen years of my life, and absolution was graciously granted without hesitation or judgment. Gradually, an overwhelming sense of freedom and familiarity consumed my whole being. I had returned whence I’d come. I imagined the Prodigal Son might have felt

the same way when, as the Gospel parable tells us, he returned from his wayward travels rehearsing lines of apology, only to be greeted by a father who loved him so unconditionally the son was welcomed with open arms, no questions asked, Click here for more on and no judgment passed. Martin Sheen. I’d just taken the first step of a long, complex spiritual journey that would change my life. But I wasn’t focused on the future now, only on this transcendent moment. Sitting alone in that church I began to weep uncontrollably with tears of sheer joy. A

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Excerpt from the book Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son by Martin Sheen and his son Emilio Estevez, with Hope Edelman. Used with permission. Martin Sheen is a veteran actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career. One of his most recent films was The Way, directed by his son Emilio Estevez.

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Name _______________________________________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________________ City ____________________________________ State ______ ZIP ______________ Telephone _____________________ E-mail _______________________________ Birth Date (For Single Life Annuity) _______________________________________ Birth Date (For Joint/Survivorship Annuity) __________________________________ Please call 888-996-1212 regarding the rate that applies to your situation. Don’t hesitate to request a free illustration for a one-life, two-life or deferred gift annuity. *Rates are subject to change. For U.S. residents only. SAM32014 March 2014 ❘ 41

LIVE WELL

❘ BY COLLEEN MONTGOMERY AND JIM BRENNAN

Move Your Body

y crazy dad and I write this column together. His idea of moving your body is to run a marathon and then have a hard time walking for the next three days. On the contrary, I remind the heart patients I work with that just 10 minutes of continuous exercise can improve your health. Moving your body also clears your mind, cultivating a more wholly in-tune lifestyle and nurturing spiritual development. Physical movement can also influence the choices you make in other areas, such as what you eat and how much you sleep.

Build Movement into Your Day Here are some ideas to work in daily exercise: walk to the bank to deposit a check, bike to the grocery store for that ingredient you’re missing, tend the garden, clean the house, or join your children or grandchildren when they play rather than watch them. Get outdoors in the fresh air; stretch your palms to the sun. Go to a lake, park, or local track. Walk the dog. The opportunities are practically endless!

Ten minutes of continuous exercise—that which elevates your heart rate and stresses your muscles—is truly beneficial. Exercise doesn’t have to be in a gym. It can be the difference between walking or cycling instead of driving; or dancing with your spouse, your children, or even by yourself, as long as it is continuous.

“I have the

strength for

everything through him

empowers me.”

who

—Phil 4:13

4 2 ❘ Ma rch 2014

St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

For Colleen Montgomery’s tips on exercising, click the button on the left.

How to Get Started

Persevere.

Body

Once you feel results, motivation kicks in and has a domino effect on other parts of your life.

• Sheds extra pounds and maintains a healthy weight

Try new things.

• Strengthens muscles making normal, daily activities easier

Be adventurous! Do something you never thought you’d do, such as signing up for a charity walk.

• Increases energy

Substitute. Walk or cycle instead of drive. Stand rather than sit. Use the stairway rather than the elevator.

Start easy. Don’t register to run a marathon two months after you begin walking or jogging (like my dad!). Find a gradual pace that suits you.

Recruit a buddy. A partner makes the time pass and the activity more enjoyable. A common activity is healthy for relationships.

Helpful Hints

• Releases endorphins, improving your mood, reducing your perception of pain, leaving you feeling good • Clears the mind, enhances focus, fosters a positive attitude • Helps you sleep more soundly

Spirit • A clear mind is a mind open to God. • Taking a walk outside exposes you to God’s creations and can inspire a peaceful heart.

If time is a problem, walk during your lunch or break time. Carry your exercise gear with you and keep a stress ball or dumbbell under your desk. When running errands, increase the distance between where you park and your destination. Stretch before getting out of bed in the morning. If chronic pain is an issue, you should start slow and easy when beginning an exercise regimen. Take breaks, sit down, breathe, and rest. Ten minutes is all it takes. If that’s too much, begin with five.

Mind

Walk for five or 10 minutes. Set achievable goals.

Benefits of Continuous Exercise

1 2 3 4 5

Make gradual, realistic changes.

Jim Brennan writes about health and fitness from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. His daughter, Colleen Montgomery, is a registered clinical exercise physiologist and certified wellness coach.

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M a rch 2 0 1 4 ❘ 4 3

Son of God Hits the Silver Screen

Emmy-winning producer Mark Burnett is using his skills and his faith to bring the story of Jesus to millions of movie lovers. BY CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON

ARK BURNETT’S RÉSUMÉ could shame even the most prosperous entrepreneur of entertainment. The producer has been at the helm of such small-screen blockbusters as Survivor, The Apprentice, and The Voice. He’s collected five Emmy Awards so far and has worked with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Martha Stewart. TV Guide even singled him out in 2013 as the “Producer of the Year.” Not bad for a working-class kid out of London. It would be easy—or at least tempting—for

44 ❘ March 2014

Burnett to rest on his laurels, to relax at his oceanfront Malibu home with wife and actor Roma Downey, and simply be. But an idle life isn’t in his constitution: Burnett is a doer, a mover, and now, it seems, an impassioned evangelist. Last year’s massively successful miniseries The Bible—produced by Burnett and Downey— broke ratings records for History Channel, drawing in 100 million viewers. He knew the series tapped into a collective need among American audiences for hope-filled entertainment. Suddenly, an idea took shape. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

Burnett and company have trimmed the 10-hour miniseries to a 135-minute big-screen production, Son of God, released on February 28. Burnett took time for a phone interview with St. Anthony Messenger to talk about the film and his determination to provide light in an often dark industry. Q. Were you surprised by the success of The Bible series? A. Well, not exactly. There’s been some degree of biblical illiteracy going on in this country. Sometime during my praying, I felt God sayFr anciscanMedia.org

ing, “Dude, just relax. I’ve got this covered.” I really believed that. And obviously I was grateful and relieved when the actual numbers started coming in. But I just knew this nation is one nation under God. Most people love the Bible, and over 100 million people watched The Bible series, which was the biggest thing in 2013.

Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado told reporters that the role of Jesus was, for him, both a challenge and an honor.

Q. It’s been a while since there was a film made about the life of Jesus. Did you think of that during production? A. As we were making it, we knew the Jesus porMarch 2014 ❘ 45

CNS PHOTO/JOE ALBLAS, COURTESY LIGHTWORKERS MEDIA

Producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, pictured in Morocco on the set of the miniseries The Bible, have used their skills and clout to bring the story to the big screen.

tion should be seen on the big screen. It’s the first time in a decade that Jesus has been seen in a wide release. The Passion of the Christ was, I think, 10 years to the week that Son of God comes out. And then you go back 50 years to find the last big movie release about the life of Jesus, which was The Greatest Story Ever Told. Here we are in 2014. Son of God takes you from the humble birth of Our Lord through his mission, his crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension. It’s a really fast-paced, dramatic, tension-filled but beautiful film.

Burnett, with Darwin Shaw (Peter) and Morgado, calls Son of God a gritty and dramatic rendering of the life and ministry of Jesus.

Q. What made you jump from the miniseries to the big screen? A: We knew this had to reach the big screen.

There’s just something about watching the story of Jesus in community. In these days, with the giant screen and surround sound, sitting there in comfortable chairs with 100 or 200 other people—it’s a feeling you get. And we 46 ❘ March 2014

know that because we’ve been to about 20 cities for screenings, and we’ve seen what happens when people see this movie on the big screen. Q. Americans are fairly predictable moviegoers. We love our action-adventure films with big explosions and crazy stunts. Why make this film? A. For us, this is our calling. And as a faith-filled family, we go to church here in California every Sunday at Our Lady of Malibu. That’s our lives. We feel if you want to make a movie about Jesus, you need to make it good enough that it’s the equivalent in quality to secular films. You can’t say, “Well, it’s a Christian film. It doesn’t have to be as good.” It does have to be as good if not better. So we used our skill sets; we raised the money. Son of God is a feature film that’s as good as any film that’s come out in the last few years. The only problem we have is that we just don’t have the marketing budget of big films like The Hobbit or The Hunger Games. Q. What can audiences expect from Son of God? A. This is very dramatic and very gritty. It feels like you really are there along with the disciples and Jesus. You feel the fear. You see how scared they were. At any moment the authorities could kill them. When Jesus said they were going to Jerusalem, the disciples are saying, “What? It’s too dangerous!” St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

Jesus on Film

Of course they’re walking into the lion’s den. The Romans are angry at all the riots that are going on. The Temple authorities are mad that this man, Jesus, is claiming to be the son of God. It’s like dry brush that someone lights a match to. And Jesus was the only one who knew what was going to happen. So you’re walking this journey with him.

The 1903 French film Vie et Passion du Christ (Life and Passion of the Christ) is often cited by film historians as the first cinematic treatment of Jesus’ life. Hollywood’s relationship with the story, however, has been an uneven one. Here are five of the most memorable.

The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)

Q. Do you think Son of God will remedy our biblical illiteracy? A. It’s going to be a movie that’s very important over the next few decades. We’re certain that The Bible series helped regain some literacy about Bible stories. This movie is a great entry point because it’s told linearly. You sit back and realize what really happened. So when you do go back and read the Gospels, it’s easier. Our new pope has said over and over that there’s a new evangelization that’s going to happen. This movie can be one tool used. We have full support of Cardinal [Donald] Wuerl, Archbishop [José] Gomez, and Cardinal [Seán Patrick] O’Malley. And, in fact, the movie is being used as curriculum provided by the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, nationwide to Catholic schools and Catholic churches. They’re taking scenes from the movie and teaching the story of Jesus.

Nominated for five Academy Awards, this George Stevens-directed epic stars Max von Sydow as Jesus, a role the actor reportedly found difficult. The film was a critical success, but never caught on with audiences during its initial run. Today it is considered a classic.

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) Based on the successful Broadway rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the film met with controversy in its day for portraying Jesus as amorous and Judas as sympathetic. But the film was still a box-office hit in North America.

Jesus of Nazareth (1977) Franco Zeffirelli’s sweeping television miniseries was a landmark for its time—and it boasts a still-impressive roster of acting heavyweights. Even after three decades, it remains a powerful examination of Jesus’ life and ministry.

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) Can art shame religion? If you’re Martin Scorsese, the answer is yes. Known for his revisionist approach to Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene, Scorsese was nevertheless Oscar-nominated for directing the film, one that still stirs controversy.

Darkness and Light Q. What is the state of the entertainment industry today? How badly are American audiences lacking faith-enriching entertainment? A. I think maybe we had been lacking, but I feel that The Bible series was a game changer. The conventional wisdom in the media was that nobody was going to watch it on prime-time TV. The thinking was that Mark Burnett and Roma Downey had lost their minds. Of course, we hadn’t, and it became a huge success. What that’s done is emboldened many other people to make faith-based films and TV.

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Mel Gibson’s divisive rendering of the last three days in the life of Christ was deemed offensive by the Anti-Defamation League, while critics cried foul for its ultraviolent imagery. But audiences swooned: The Passion grossed over $600 million in box-office receipts.

CNS PHOTO FROM ICON PRODUCTIONS

Q. Is it a goal of yours that this film reaches a younger audience? A. Yes, absolutely, and that’s all in the way you make it. This is very gritty, very real, and very dangerous, all mixed in with the beautiful love and charisma of Jesus. But it’s done very well. This was dangerous for these disciples. They’re so scared. And that fear doesn’t end when they get to Jerusalem and the crucifixion happens. After the crucifixion, they’re

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Jim Caviezel played the title role in Mel Gibson’s controversial The Passion of the Christ, a film that was derided by critics but loved by audiences.

March 2014 ❘ 47

cowering in the upper room. The disciples think they’re next. Q. You’re committed to offering a faithbased entertainment alternative. You’ve even started LightWorkers Media with your wife, Roma. What is it and what can we expect in the future? A. LightWorkers Media is a company that focuses solely on uplifting, faith-based content. We have a lot of TV shows for the family: Shark Tank, Survivor, The Sing Off, The Voice— they’re all family friendly. But LightWorkers Media is taking it a stage further and using our skills and influence to spread faith-based entertainment. It’s “LightWorkers” because the whole mission is to spread the light. We did that with The Bible and now with the film Son of God. Going forward, we’re going to do another biblicalbased series called A.D. with NBC. It starts at the crucifixion and goes through the next 40 years. What happened in the early Church? It was a very dramatic, scary time. Q. With The Bible and Son of God, as well as other upcoming projects from LightWorkers Media, is it your hope to change the culture of movies and entertainment?

A. I think the movie culture will always be diverse. There are going to be things that you and I would never want our families to see. We live in a democracy—people are going to make whatever they want to make. But instead of complaining about the darkness, what we have to do is spread the light. And the better the programming is that spreads the light, the more these movies will get made. Let’s face it: prior to 2013, there was no biblical-based or faith-based mainstream TV or film. The Bible started it, and Son of God is a mainstream feature film released about the life of Jesus. The only way that catches fire is by interviews like this. We just hope enough people find out about it. Q. So are you counting on some degree of word-of-mouth marketing? A. Yes. Look, everybody knows somebody at work or in their family or their friends who they want to bring to Christ, but they don’t know how to do it. It’s easy: “Hey, dude, come to the movie with me.” I mean, very few people will refuse to come to a movie. A Christopher Heffron is the associate editor and social media editor of this publication. For more information on the film, go to sonofgodmovie.com.

Click here for more on Mark Burnett and the film Son of God.

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CNS PHOTO/JOE ALBLAS, COURTESY LIGHTWORKERS MEDIA

ANSWERS TO PETE AND REPEAT 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Pete has pushed up his sleeve. Sis is missing a boot. Scruffy has joined in the fun. A branch is missing from the tree. There is a butterfly by Sis and Scruffy. The tail on Pete’s kite is longer. You can now see the tree’s roots. Sis is also flying a kite.

Downey and Burnett are guided by faith: they’ve started LightWorkers Media to bring more faith-based entertainment to viewers. 48 ❘ March 2014

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AT HOME ON EARTH

❘ BY KYLE KRAMER

In-Between Time

Let me suggest that to live faithfully in these times requires two things: vision and concrete action. First, vision. Jesus and Moses, and the prophets between, revealed a God of hope and promise. God isn’t stuck in the past; God constantly calls the whole world—the whole uniLiving Hope verse, in fact—toward an exciting, dynamic future in Plant a tree this year, or which “all shall be well,” as donate to help others do it St. Julian of Norwich put it. at greenbeltmovement. When we tend it with care org. or leave it undisturbed, the natural world preaches the Reach out to those in your same message. Through community who are seasons and cycles, nature suffering. moves toward a better future of cleaner air and water, Mowers: Plan on leaving deeper topsoil, and beautiyour soil-building grass fully diverse, abundant forms clippings in place as mulch. of life. At the same time, there’s also a dark thread of suffering and ambiguity woven into God’s growing, evolving creation. Taking that seriously, yet still trusting in God’s unfolding promise, marks an important difference between Christian hope and mere optimism. This kind of gritty, realistic hope survives by daily, practical acts. In the in-between time, we pray; we plant trees and gardens; we care for children and parents and the poor; we invest our time and talents in our communities; we work for justice. Like a good storyteller, God keeps us in suspense about how things will turn out. But since God is a good storyteller, we can trust that it’s all worth it. A

Kyle Kramer, an organic farmer, is author of A Time to Plant: Life Lessons in Work, Prayer, and Dirt (Sorin Books).

Trusting in God’s promise marks an important difference between Christian hope and mere optimism. Fr ancisca n Media .org

tal Digi as Extr

Click here for more ways to connect with nature.

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arch may well be “the cruelest month,” in spite of T. S. Eliot famously giving that dishonor to April. On our farm in southern Indiana, when the root cellar and freezer are running low but we are a ways off from any harvest, March is the in-between time. Winter has lost its hold and spring is achingly close, but not quite close enough. It feels as if it may never get here. According to a Christian understanding of history, we live always in the in-between time. Jesus’ incarnation, ministry, death, and resurrection revealed how the kingdom of God is dawning, but 2,000 (often bloody) years later, the kingdom hasn’t yet fully flowered, and it won’t until the end of time. Given the “deep time” scale we’ve discovered from evolution and our 13.7-billion-year-old universe, we may still have a while to wait. Often it seems that we’re sliding backward toward chaos, not marching to a steady drumbeat of progress. It’s not easy to live in limbo, sandwiched between God’s promises and their fulfillment.

ASK A FRANCISCAN

❘ BY FATHER PAT McCLOSKEY, OFM

Burial in a Catholic Cemetery Can non-Catholics be buried in a Catholic cemetery? While most of the people in one extended family have plots in a Catholic cemetery, one person who was baptized a Catholic, but never practiced, would like to be buried in the family plot. His wife would like to be buried there as well. She was baptized in a Methodist church. The Code of Canon Law gives a few regulations about cemeteries (1180, 1208, and 1240-43), but it does not address who may be buried in Catholic cemeteries. I know it is an issue that has caused grief to some families in the past. I am not aware of any legislation passed by the US bishops on this subject. Unless the local diocese has relevant regulations to the contrary, the person you mentioned, and his wife, should be able to be

buried in a Catholic cemetery. Even in very rare cases where a Church funeral is not permitted (Canons 1184-85), the Church is not preempting God’s judgment of a deceased person. The local bishop determines when this canon applies.

‘Made to Be Sin’? Section 602 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church concludes: “By sending his own Son in the form of a slave, in the form of a fallen humanity, on account of sin, God ‘made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’” I believe that I understand the reasoning behind why Jesus died for us, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. I believe I grasp the reason for his suffering and the relationship it has with our

Lenten Regulations

JACEK CHABRASZEWSKI/FOTOLIA

What are the rules for Lenten fasting and abstinence? Which ages are covered by those rules? Abstinence from eating meat is required on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (March 5 and April 18, respectively, in 2014). Fridays of Lent are also days of abstinence. This law normally pertains to Catholics who have completed their 14th year. Fasting (one full meal and two other light meals, with no other solid food in between) is normally required on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday for Catholics between the ages of 18 and 60. These are the regulations for Latin-rite Catholics in the United States. Exceptions can be made for medical and other serious reasons.

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lives and how we should live them. What I don’t understand is the author’s use of the phrase “God made him to be sin . . .” and what that should mean to me. This phrase comes from 2 Corinthians 5:21. The New American Bible’s editors write about this verse: “This is a statement of God’s purpose, expressed paradoxically in terms of sharing and exchange of attributes. As Christ became our righteousness (1 Cor 1:30), we become God’s righteousness (cf 2 Cor 5:14-15).” In the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, the late Jerome MurphyO’Connor, OP, wrote that this verse expands the preceding verses 18-19 by explaining the role of Christ in reconciliation. Christ was acknowledged as sinless (Heb 4:15; 1 Pt 2:22; Jn 8:46; 1 Jn 3:5), yet through God’s choice (Rom 8:3) “he came to stand in that relation to God which normally is the result of sin” (C. K. Barrett). “He became part of sinful humanity (Gal 3:13), so that we through him might become the righteousness of God: ‘Through God’s loving act in Christ, [we] have come to stand in that relation to God which is described by the term righteousness, that is, we are acquitted in his court, justified, reconciled’ [Barrett]. Humanity is what it can and should be only as righteous.” None of this contradicts what the author of the Letter to the Hebrews writes: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin” (4:15). Biblical passages should be interpreted in light of other biblical passages—not to stifle creativity, but to St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

ensure that we are not distorting God’s self-revelation.

Excommunicated for an Abortion? Our diocese distributed a pamphlet on examining your conscience. It states that having an abortion or encouraging a woman to do so would mean automatic excommunication from the Catholic Church. If I do that, is this so? Abortion is the direct killing of innocent, unborn human life. It is not the same as miscarriage, which is sometimes called a “spontaneous abortion.” Canon 1398 reads, “A person who procures a completed abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.” The term latae sententiae is equivalent to “automatic”—as opposed to ferendae sententiae, meaning “imposed by competent authority.” The canon refers to the person who had the abortion and those who directly assisted in it. That would probably include any third party who knowingly financed it. My predecessor in writing this column, the late Father Norman Perry, OFM, addressed a similar question in our January 1988 issue. After quoting the canon cited above, he wrote: “That means a Catholic woman who has an abortion—and accomplices without whose assistance the offense would not have been committed (Canon 1329, #2)—is excommunicated automatically by the law itself if all the other requirements of the code are present. “Those conditions are as follows: 1) The abortion was directly intended and was successful. It was not a case of miscarriage or accidental loss of the child; 2) The woman involved knew a penalty was attached to the law forbidding abortion; 3) She was at least 18 years old at the time of the abortion; 4) She had the full use of reason (she was not [mentally impaired] or psychologically disturbed); 5) She did not act out of serious fear. Fr ancisca n Media .org

“If a woman (or accomplice, e.g., the abortionist) has incurred the penalty of excommunication, canon law (Canon 1355, #2) gives the local ordinary (the bishop) power to remit it. Many bishops delegate all confessors to absolve from this excommunication without recourse to themselves—at least in the case of a first abortion.” Since that response appeared, I believe it would now be accurate to say that “most bishops delegate.” The “serious fear” condition mentioned above is probably a significant factor in most abortions. There are several post-abortion ministries in the United States. The most well-known may be Project Rachel, which was founded in Milwaukee in 1984, and has been nationwide since 1990. The National Office of Post-abortion Reconciliation and Healing can be contacted at noparh.org or by calling 1-800-5WECARE in complete confidentiality. Rachel’s Vineyard (rachelsvine yard.org) is a Catholic ministry that

also offers nondenominational retreats for people who are dealing with the lingering effects of abortion.

Patron of Husbands? Is there a patron saint for husbands? I know that there is one for wives. John Fink’s book Married Saints (Alba House) includes these saintly husbands: Thomas More, King Louis IX, Stephen of Hungary, Henry, Edward the Confessor, Isidore the Farmer, Joachim, Peter, Zachary, and also Joseph, the husband of Mary. A

Father Pat welcomes your questions! Send them to: Ask a Franciscan, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498, or Ask@FranciscanMedia.org. All questions sent by mail need to include a selfaddressed stamped envelope. This column’s answers can be searched back to April 1996 at StAnthonyMessenger.org.

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M a rch 2 0 1 4 ❘ 5 1

BOOK CORNER

❘ BY CAROL ANN MORROW

Rich in Years Finding Peace and Purpose in a Long Life

What

Our Readers Recommend

The Ear of the Heart: An Actress’ Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows Mother Dolores Hart, OSB, and Richard DeNeut Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation Martin Laird, OSA Twelve Years a Slave Solomon Northup Prayers for Sale: A Novel Sandra Dallas Simply Bonaventure: An Introduction to His Life, Thought, and Writings Ilia Delio, OSF

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By Johann Christoph Arnold Plough Publishing House 183 pages ● $12 Softcover/audiobook Reviewed by MARY LYNNE RAPIEN, LPCC, clinical counselor in Cincinnati, Ohio, married to Ben for 53 years. They are parents to six married children and grandparents to 20. I am in the hospital at my husband’s bedside as I write this review. Where we will be as you read it, only God knows. The material in Rich in Years has given us much food for thought. We have already passed through some of the stages covered and are presently dealing with others. For people like me and for those at other stages, this book is meant to inform and inspire. Rich in Years is not a book for the young because they can’t imagine ever growing old. It is for those of us who know that we have more years behind us than those ahead, and want to live them gracefully and fully. The book may also help the generation that is not sure how to emotionally support and care for its aging relatives. The author himself is in his 70s. He has interviewed many seniors who have faced failing health, losses, and approaching death. He offers the wisdom gleaned from those who have embraced life in the face of death. Each chapter deals with a different challenge that comes with living longer: growing older, accepting changes, combating loneli-

ness, and finding purpose being a few. Each of the 11 chapters begins with a delightful picture of a person featured in that chapter. The chapters seem to progress in the challenges of life: keeping faith, dementia, and facing death. The author believes that those who thrive continue to give and serve, although not in ways they did previously. He gives many suggestions. The author, who has also written a book on forgiveness, stresses the need to forgive and love in order to embrace death—and new life—with peace. One insight Arnold offers is the difference between letting go and giving up. He comments, “Often dying people made life difficult for themselves and others by holding on to their independence at all costs.” Arnold describes letting go as admitting to the realities of the aging process. “It means putting your life into God’s hands and living on his terms,” writes Arnold. The author sees giving up as passive defeat. Those who thrive continue to give and serve, he observes, although not in ways they did previously. While reading the book, I found my mind going to folks I know who have not let the fear of future death rob them of joy and peace found in present life. They live as people embracing life rather than as ones waiting to die. Johann Arnold holds to the tenet, “How we grow old is far more important than how old we grow.” The author doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges. He looks beyond those challenges to gifts that accompany them. He gives suggestions for preparing for death. He uses many passages from Scripture that give direction for living in the present, while at the same time hoping for a fuller future life. These are generously interspersed with wisdom gleaned from secular poets and sages. The book is easy to read, but not necessarily easy reading. The people who will benefit most from this book are senior citizens who are not sure how to face the future, who feel that the best of life is behind them. For others, Rich in Years is a confirmation that they are on the right track. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

BOOK BRIEFS

New Avenues of Discovery for Lent Everyday Epiphanies Rediscovering the Sacred in Everything By Melannie Svoboda, SND Twenty-Third Publications 128 pages ● $12.95 Paperback

Carry On in Faith By Thomas P. Leiker Liguori 105 pages ● $10.99 Paperback Reviewed by VIRGINIA ANN FROEHLE, RSM, who focuses on spirituality in writing and spiritual direction. She is the author of three books, including the best-selling Loving Yourself More: 101 Meditations for Women (Ave Maria Press). Thomas Leiker encourages us to read Carry On in Faith “in bits and pieces.” He offers 40 short daily readings based on Gospel stories, followed by comments or questions. The reader may enter into these at any time of the year, but, because his emphasis is on Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection, he suggests that this book would be most helpful 20 days before Easter and 20 days afterward. The theme of the questions that follow the stories could be summed up with “What did Jesus do?” and “What would I do?” The book is written for people in the pews rather than Scripture scholars. This pewdweller would have enjoyed some pertinent modern or personal stories woven into the readings. Carry On in Faith might well be used in RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) sessions as a way of introducing Scripture stories. In fact, the author has been an RCIA coordinator, as well as a director of liturgy, a catechist, and a musician. Jesus instructed the apostles to tell the good news to the world. Like those apostles, “we are challenged,” says Leiker, “to take courage and live out this call.” He promises that, in praying with Carry On in Faith, you will gain some of that courage by walking beside Jesus through his passion and resurrection. Fr ancisca n Media .org

Lent offers an opportunity to tune in more closely to the daily revelations of the divine presence. Sister Melannie has arranged her recollections of times when God broke into her routine seasonally, but this is a book you could open to any random page for a spiritual pickme-up.

What’s a Person to Do? Everyday Decisions That Matter By Mark S. Latkovic Our Sunday Visitor 144 pages ● $14.95 Paperback At first glance, some of these questions seemed small. Dr. Latkovic calls them “pesky,” everyday dilemmas. Since the text presents 40 scenarios, an answer a day could offer a toolkit for wrestling with ethical decisions familiar to readers.

The Ox-Herder and the Good Shepherd Finding Christ on the Buddha’s Path By Addison Hodges Hart Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 126 pages ● $15 Paperback Ten pictures of an ox-herder by a 12th-century Zen master: a spiritual commentary for Lent? It’s possible. These sketches inspired the author to seek commonality between the ox-herder and the parable of the Good Shepherd. This book could prove a difficult exercise, but it stretches the reader to seek the shepherd of souls in an unfamiliar disguise.

Books featured in this column 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 M a rch 2 0 1 4 ❘ 5 3

A CATHOLIC MOM SPEAKS

❘ BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER

Becoming Unconnected

he other day I was at the grocery store when I ran into a woman I had gone to high school with. I smiled at her, expecting to engage in a brief conversation. We had reconnected on Facebook, and she often commented on my statuses and photos. Likewise, I had kept track of what her family was up to—their challenges, achievements, and her musings about various situations. But instead of acknowledging me, or even saying hello, she walked right past me without so much as a glance. I stood there for a second, taking in what had just happened. Later that day, I revisited the encounter and began to think. In this modern age of e-mail, Facebook,

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Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, and a seemingly endless list of ways to connect, are we really connecting at all? Even when we are, is it at all meaningful?

Electronic Fallout As a mom of a teenager and preteen, I’m well aware that most communication these days happens electronically. And don’t think for a moment that adults are not just as guilty of this. Actual phone calls are rare. Games are played with friends online—Candy Crush, anyone?— with communication often coming through the TV and a headset. In fact, this became all too evident to me this past Christmas—our family’s first Christmas without my

mom—when I walked into my dad’s house to find almost the entire family engaged with the new technology they’d received for Christmas. Yes, real-life, face-to-face interactions have taken a backseat these days. I’m worried that the result is a certain amount of distance from the real world, and that it’s creating less sensitivity in our actions. Hiding behind a screen seems to have deteriorated our sense of community and compassion. The realities of life are often ignored or pushed aside by the confines of the very small digital world. Harsh words are said, inappropriate messages sent. Things we would never consider doing or saying in person become completely acceptSt A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

GIVE IT UP

able. We forget that on the other end of that screen is a real-life person with feelings.

What to Do? I’m not naïve enough to think that we all can go cold turkey from our electronics. They are in many ways beneficial and necessary. But do we need so many of them? Or can’t there be a happy medium? As much as I know it would pain my kids—and to be honest, my husband and me—maybe at times we should take a break from electronics and reintroduce ourselves to the world face-to-face. For instance, I recently read of a solution to people

talking/texting/playing on their phones when in the company of friends, such as at a restaurant. Everyone has to put their phones in the middle of the table. Whoever grabs their phone first to answer a call, send a text, etc., has to pick up the tab. Perhaps a consequence like being stuck with the bill will serve as a deterrent—at least for a while. So try it. Even if you can’t completely disconnect, try to cut back. Just because your cell phone rings, does it mean that you always have to answer it? Try to log on to social media only once a day (though that might be too ambitious!). Call someone instead of texting him or her. Or

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY KURNICK MAASS

Last Lent some of my friends took on the challenge of giving up Facebook. At the time, I remember wondering how or why they would do that. I would miss the interaction. I would miss what was going on. But come the end of Lent, when my friends logged back on, they reported how much easier it was than they anticipated. They also reported that they seemed much more engaged in things because they were not constantly checking people’s statuses or wasting time logged on to their account when they could have been doing something else. So this year I’ve decided to do this myself. Who knows if I’ll make it 40 days? But I’m certainly going to try.

even better, schedule a time to get together. While e-mail, social media, and many other forms of electronic communication certainly have their place in society, let’s try not to forget that we also need to connect with one another—in person, sans electronics. A

Do you have comments or suggestions for topics you’d like to see addressed in this column? Send them to me at “A Catholic Mom Speaks,” 28 W. Liberty St., Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498, or e-mail them to CatholicMom@FranciscanMedia.org.

PETE AND REPEAT These scenes may seem alike to you, But there are changes in the two. So look and see if you can name ILLUSTRATION BY TOM GREENE

Eight ways in which they’re not the same. (Answers on page 48)

Fr ancisca n Media .org

M a rch 2 0 1 4 ❘ 5 5

BACKSTORY

The Best-Laid Plans

ong-term and short-term: we try to plan for both as we put together issues of your magazine. For example, we know you’ll be looking for Lenten reading this and next month. It’s too late to plan even for next

month—it takes a few months to get your magazine ready and through the mail. So a year ago, we started scouting for inspiring Lenten events.

Art director Jeanne Kortekamp worked then with New York photographer Gregory Shemitz to bring you next month’s story of the friars’ Way of PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON

the Cross in the Bronx. In the middle of last year, I noticed Lawrence Cunningham’s new book on the seven cardinal sins, a topic ideal for this month, with Lent under way. The Notre Dame theologian graciously agreed to write a short piece for you (see p. 22). Some one-time events are announced long beforehand. We know, for example, that there will be a synod on the family this coming October. Planning is under way here for some feature articles on families and faith. (Any ideas? E-mail me.) There are unexpected news events that beg for treatment. The example at hand is a major, Church-led effort to provide relief after last November’s horrific typhoon in the Philippines. We talked with our friends at Catholic Relief Services, who told us of a visit to the ravaged region by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. We quickly changed this month’s cover to make way for Judy Ball’s in-depth look at the tragedy and the Church response. Then there’s Pope Francis, who seems to offer a surprise each day—many of which are newsworthy well beyond the Catholic press. In late November, he issued a road map of sorts, published as The Joy of the Gospel. Father Pat and I sat one morning then and talked about how we might best help our readers understand the importance of this papal statement. At our editors’ meeting, we later decided to start small, with last month’s informative editorial. A fuller treatment, at your request (via our monthly online survey—e-mail me to join), is coming. Is it St. Patrick’s Day yet? Don’t ask our editors! We’re worrying about Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and the October synod. All of that is so that right now, every month, you’ll be reading a timely, inspiring magazine.

Editor in Chief

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St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

LIGHTEN UP

“It’s the law. Everybody wears seat belts.”

“As a way of greeting, I want you to text the person next to you.”

Fr ancisca n Media .org

“I never zap through commercials. That’s the only time I have to do my homework.”

M a rch 2 0 1 4 ❘ 5 7

ST. ANTHONY M 28 W. Liberty Street Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498

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14 days from $1499* Departs September 28, 2014. Fly into Philadelphia and enjoy a sightseeing tour. Then your scenic journey begins offering spectacular and colorful vistas through Amish Country to Gettysburg. Travel north with a stop at the Corning Museum of Glass into Ontario and awe-inspiring Niagara Falls for two nights! Return to upstate New York where you will board a cruise through the 1000 Islands; drive through the Adirondack region, stop in Lake Placid and then into the White Mountains, including Franconia Notch State Park, NH. Stop at Flume Gorge and witness the impressive waterfalls and beautiful fauna, then continue east to York county, ME. Next, drive along the New England coast to Boston, with a city tour; visit Plymouth, founded by the Pilgrims and Cape Cod. Then view the gorgeous Mansions of Newport, RI en route to Bridgeport, CT and tour New York City seeing all the major sights of the “Big Apple.” *PPDO. Plus $159 tax/service/government fees. Alternate departure dates available September & October. Seasonal charges may apply. Add-on airfare available.

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