March 2017 by St. Anthony Messenger

BEFORE HE WAS POPE FRANCIS

ST. ANTHONY Messenger Six Lenten Pitfalls Jesus’ Keynote Addresses Praying with Icons

The

Shack Hollywood Drama with a Catholic Touch

MARCH 2017 • $3.95 FRANCISCANMEDIA.ORG

REFLECTION

Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Lk 1:30 PHOTO BY BILL WITTMAN OF A PAINTING BY MIKE DYWELSKA

CONTENTS

ST. ANTHONY Messenger

❘ MARCH 2017 ❘ VOLUME 124/NUMBER 10

ON THE COVE R

28 The Shack: Christian Film with a Catholic Touch

In The Shack, based on the popular novel, the Holy Trinity is artfully and imaginatively presented on screen, including Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer in a surprising turn as God the Father.

This religious book sold a whopping 20-plus million copies. Now it has been made into a major motion picture starring Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer. By Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

Photo by Jake Giles Netter/Lionsgate

F E AT U R E S

D E PA R T M E N T S

14 Before He Was Francis

2 Dear Reader

In his book Pilgrimage, this best-selling author tells of his journey to the villas of Buenos Aires, among those who worked with the future pope. By Mark K. Shriver

3 From Our Readers 4 Followers of St. Francis Gary Francisco Keller

6 Reel Time

20 Jesus’ Keynote Addresses Despite their differences, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke point to the power and breadth of Christ’s message for us. By Kenneth R. Overberg, SJ

Hidden Figures

8 Channel Surfing

Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals

10 Church in the News

34 Six Lenten Pitfalls By focusing too much on Lent, we can lose sight of Easter’s true meaning. By Patricia M. Robertson

25 At Home on Earth Mindful Driving

26 Editorial

40 Praying with Icons

All the News That’s Fit to Share

We’re used to communicating to God through words, but images have a special power. By Jeannette de Beauvoir

44 Fiction: Training Wheels

49 Catholic Sites to Explore

Hero or zero—the choice was his. By J.H. Osolinsky

Our Sorrowful Mother Sanctuary

50 Ask a Franciscan Burying Cremains in My Garden?

52 Book Corner Transformed by God’s Word

54 A Catholic Mom Speaks The Blessings of Breastfeeding

56 Backstory

DEAR READER

ST. ANTHONY M essenger

Full of Charity On March 29, we celebrate the feast of St. Ludovico of Casoria (1814–1885), a cabinetmaker before joining the Friars Minor in Naples. After 10 years of teaching chemistry, physics, and mathematics to younger friars, he had a mystical experience that he described as a “cleansing.” This conversion led him to establish a dispensary for the poor, two schools for African children, and a home for orphans, people who are blind, and those unable to speak. He also founded institutes for the blind, the elderly, and for travelers. He once said, “Christ’s love has wounded my heart.” Ludovico founded the Gray Brothers (whose first members had belonged to the Secular Franciscan Order) and the Sisters of St. Elizabeth; both communities helped carry on the charitable works he began. His spiritual testament begins, “The Lord called me to himself with a most tender love, and with an infinite charity he led and directed me along the path of my life.” Canonized in 2014, Ludovico had used his God-given gifts to reach out to people on the margins of society.

Publisher Daniel Kroger, OFM President Kelly McCracken Editor in Chief John Feister Art Director Jeanne Kortekamp Franciscan Editor Pat McCloskey, OFM Managing Editor/Advertising Daniel Imwalle Assistant Editors Susan Hines-Brigger Kathleen M. Carroll Digital Editor Christopher Heffron Editorial Assistant Sharon Lape

Printing Kingery Printing Co. Effingham, IL

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(U.S.P.S. PUBLICATION #007956 CANADA PUBLICATION #PM40036350) Volume 124, 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 109200189. 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 countries. Single copy price: $3.95. For change of address, four weeks’ notice is necessary. See FranciscanMedia.org/subscription-services for information on your digital edition. Writer’s guidelines can be found at Franciscan Media.org/writers-guide/. 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 ©2017. All rights reserved.

2 ❘ Ma rch 201 7

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

FROM OUR READERS

Fiction That Hits Home I just finished reading “Hotel Albergue,” the fiction piece by Maria Morera Johnson in the January issue of St. Anthony Messenger. I found it so creative, poignant, engaging, and relevant! We had just had a joyous Christmas with our three adult children and their families, who all live out of town. Our daughter used to play the violin, but hadn’t gotten it out of the case in 18 years. I brought it downstairs in hopes that she would play it. Two “gentle” reminders later, she took it out of its case, tuned it up a bit, and began to play a piece right from her heart (as Mali did in the story). Music is a universal language—and our daughter rediscovered the music within her when she picked up that violin. Thank you, Maria Morera Johnson, for sharing your creativity with

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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words and your love of music that touches everyone. Thanks, too, for publishing Florence Henderson’s last interview in the January issue (“‘Here’s the Story’: Remembering Florence Henderson,” by Rita E. Piro). Pam Wright Farmington, Michigan

‘Magical Language’ Limits God’s Power I’m writing in regard to Michael Dennin’s “A New Look at Miracles,” the cover story from the December issue. I take issue with Dennin’s suggestion that “magical language may work best” as a way to explain the mystery of a true miracle. Magic and miracle are not one and the same. A magician is a person who has honed his (or her) skills in illusion and sleight of hand to delight the audience, sometimes resorting to sorcery and black arts. A true miracle is in the realm of God, who needs no magical powers or tricks to surprise us. In trying to explain the unexplainable, we dare not put limitations on almighty God. Ruth Fee Woodland, California

What about Christ’s Judgment? Having read Father Jim Van Vurst’s article in the January issue, “The Hour of Our Death,” I am puzzled not by what he writes but by what he leaves out. I am sure he intended his readers to feel comforted by the notion that Christ will be with us at the moment of death, but am I wrong in assuming that Christ will come to us as a judge, showing us our life in a flash? The enormity of our sins will be revealed to us, and Christ will extend his mercy to us. This, it seems to me, is why presumption is something we cannot permit regardless of how we have tried to lead a good life. I guess what

I am saying is that the moment of death remains a mystery for each person, and only in extraordinary circumstances does a person learn that a loved one is in heaven with God. I don’t think we can ever say with certainty that a loved one or relative is with God in heaven, as much as we would hope it is so. Don Bruce Suffern, New York

Solid Tips for Parents Thank you for Susan Vogt’s pertinent article in the December 2016 issue, “When Children Become Adults.” The author’s assessment of the current challenges parents face with their adult children rings true. I found much comfort and grace in the “Helpful Virtues” section in particular, and appreciate the tips for parents offered by Vogt. It can be difficult to let go and allow God to take charge, but this article provides inspiration to do just that. Nancy Gruber Cincinnati, Ohio

Tattooed and Catholic Robert Bizzarro’s letter in the January “From Our Readers” column (“Compassion Doesn’t Mean Acceptance”) suggests that tattoos and body piercings violate the body. Traditional Catholic teaching does not proscribe tattoos and body piercing. My tattooed friends are of very good character. One is a 30-year-old unmarried mom who opted to give birth to her daughter rather than have an abortion. Another young woman I know has a tattoo on her right side that is consistent with the Fourth Commandment. She told me the tattoo is in honor of her mother, who died of cancer. There are a number of heavenly stars in the tattoo, but just one word: “Mommy.” Louis H. Pumphrey Shaker Heights, Ohio M a rch 2 0 1 7 ❘ 3

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

The Heart of the Matter

hough he eventually came to admire, then follow, St. Francis, Gary Francisco Keller grew up in a household devoid of religious sensibility. He says: “If such a thing existed in the 1940s, we would have been identified in the religion slot as ‘none.’ We didn't have any pro or anti feelings on religion.” His family did, however, have a deep respect for education. When they moved from San Diego, California, to Mexico City, it was to pursue educational opportunities. “My brother Andrew and I went to the American School Foundation, which financially was way over our heads, but necessary. We wouldn’t have survived in a Mexican public school, and everyone who had the smallest possibility of avoiding a public school took it.” Gary sold eggs door-to-door at age 10, often working an additional job or two and always giving the money to his mother to help with his tuition. Gary says, “It seems inconceivable today, but I had no idea that there existed financial aid, and I just paid my way. For me, college was the opposite of work, and I never remotely associated it with a career. As a

Gary Francisco Keller

result, I was utterly free to elect whatever courses I wanted to, and I gravitated to philosophy and to creative writing.” Just after a conversion experience in October 2007, Gary attended a church staffed by Franciscans. “That was my very first introduction to St. Francis of Assisi, about whom I barely knew anything. I immediately joined RCIA and I never looked back.” Gary now teaches at Arizona State University and serves as the director of Hispanic research. In 2010, Gary founded the St. Francis and the Americas Project (SFA), which provides inspiring articles and art about Francis and the Franciscan world. SFA hosts StFrancis.clas.asu.edu and offers students research and writing opportunities, publishing prospects, and larger cooperative projects. The organization is purposely flexible —there are no membership fees and no rigid structure. It does not sell or promote any products and depends entirely on the work and contributions of those devoted to the Franciscan charism. SFA has published more than 250 books, including a life of St. Francis by Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral. A major component of SFA’s work is docu-

STORIES FROM OUR READERS A Sight for Sore Eyes

Learn more about Catholic saints and their feast days by going to FranciscanMedia.org/ source/saint-of-theday.

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I lost my best and favorite pair of prescription eyeglasses about three months ago, and have been searching all over for them. I am on Medicaid, so my glasses are an out-ofpocket expense. I had to search everywhere and even moved furniture at my mother’s house, thinking I lost them there! Finally, I gave in and tried to order a new pair, but they were out of stock. This past Saturday, I was cleaning my room and moved a few things that my daughter had put in there. Below those items was my St. Anthony prayer card! So I asked—he had helped before—if he could help find my glasses, knowing it would have to be a miracle. Well, today I happened to stop in a store and talked to an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. Behind him, taped on the wall, were my glasses! I have so much to be thankful for to St. Anthony. I believe in his miraculous intercession. This strengthens my faith even more! May God bless everyone! —P.K.

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

ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA

Wise Words In the Assidua, a biography written a year after Anthony’s death, we read that his preaching, “seasoned with the salt of grace, conferred abundant divine grace on his listeners.” People marveled at his ability to adapt spiritual matters for ordinary people. With great care he sowed the practice of virtue. People “of every condition, class, and age were happy to have received from him admonitions suitable for their lives” (chapter 10). –P.M.

PHOTO BY FRANK JASPER, OFM

menting the fascinating history of the encounter between Europeans—especially the Franciscans—and the Amerindian populations of the Americas, through an initiative called the Franciscan-Amerindian Dialogs. Indigenous foods, culture, and languages, especially, are a major focus, and the project has created a vast bibliography of primary sources, images, and videos available to anyone, free of charge. Gary explains that the Franciscans converted more than 12 million indigenous people after the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531, and the Catholic faith has left an indelible mark on the region. The heart of the matter was simple, Gary thinks. “What was involved with the 12 million converts is a story well worth telling. I’ll say one thing: both the Aztecs and the Franciscans believed the human heart is sacred. The Aztecs cut it out and offered it to the gods, and the most precious hearts were of their own toddlers. The Franciscans explained that Jesus gave up his own heart to save humankind. This caused a sea change in Mesoamerica.” —Kathleen Carroll

To learn more about Franciscan saints, visit FranciscanMedia.org/source/saint-of-the-day.

S T. A N T H O N Y B R E A D

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Send all postal communication to: St. Anthony Bread 1615 Vine St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498

M a rch 2 0 1 7 ❘ 5

PHOTO BY FRANK JASPER, OFM

The National Shrine of St. Anthony is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Consecrated in 1889, it includes a first-class relic of St. Anthony and serves as a center for daily prayer and contemplation. The Franciscan friars minister from the shrine. To help them in their work among the poor, you may send a monetary offering called St. Anthony Bread. Make checks or money orders payable to “Franciscans” and mail to the address below. Every Tuesday, a Mass is offered for benefactors and petitioners at the shrine. To seek St. Anthony’s intercession, mail your petition to the address below. Petitions are taken to the shrine each week. To post your petition online, please visit stanthony.org, where you can also request to have a candle lit or a Mass offered; or you may make a donation to the Franciscans or sign up to receive a novena booklet.

REEL TIME

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

Hidden Figures

SISTER ROSE’S PHOTO BY HOPPER STONE/FOX

Favorite

Lenten Movies for

Women

(L-R) Janelle Monáe, Taraji P. Henson, and Octavia Spencer celebrate their achievements in Hidden Figures.

Enchanted April (1991)

In 1961, during the early days of the US space program, the Langley Research Center employs many African American women as “computers,” mathematicians who compute numbers for research. They work in the segregated West Area of the campus. Katherine (Taraji P. Henson), Mary (Janelle Monáe), and Dorothy (Octavia Spencer, in an Oscarnominated role) are friends who carpool. At a young age, Katherine’s mathematical talents earn her advanced educational opportunities. Now, as the widowed mother of three girls, she works as a computer in the West Area. Her condescending supervisor, Vivian (Kirsten Dunst), taps her to join the Space Task Group, headed by the taciturn Al (Kevin Costner). Dorothy is the acting supervisor of the department and is determined to advance to supervisor—a job no black woman has ever held. Mary aspires to fill an opening for a space engineer, but when she applies, the requirements suddenly change. She has to go through the courts to be allowed to take

Where Do We Go Now? (2011) Queen of Katwe (2016) Moana (2016) Denial (2016)

6 ❘

March 2017

the necessary classes at a white high school because the state of Virginia refused to desegregate schools. After her assignment to the Space Task Group, Katherine must walk half a mile to use the restroom for women of color. When Al realizes the loss of time and the indignity she faces, he tears down the “colored only” sign and effectively desegregates the facility. As the Russians make huge gains in the race to space, US astronauts prepare. When the astronauts arrive at Langley, John Glenn (Glen Powell) goes out of his way to meet the African American women who are making it possible. Hidden Figures focuses on the lives of these three groundbreaking women, whose efforts contributed greatly to the success of the early space program. It’s a tragedy that it took more than 50 years for this to come to the screen, but we have it now. The story structure follows a well-used formula to great effect, and the acting is perfect. A-3, PG ■ Race-based violence. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

CNS PHOTO/A24 FILMS

Annette Bening (left) stars as a mother struggling to raise her teenage son in the funny, if flawed, 20th Century Women.

20th Century Women

Fences This cinematic interpretation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer-winning play (the sixth of the 10 he wrote about African American life in Pittsburgh) tells the story of Troy (Denzel Washington) and his wife, Rose (Viola Fr anciscanMedia.org

CNS PHOTO/PARAMOUNT

It is 1979 in Santa Barbara, California. Divorced mother and graphic artist Dorothea (Annette Bening) raises her 15year-old son, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann), in a large house where people come and go, commune-style. When Dorothea believes that she and Jamie are not communicating, she asks boarders William (Billy Crudup) and Abbie (Greta Gerwig), as well as Julie (Elle Fanning), Jamie’s best friend, to take her place in raising him. Dorothea is still there, of course, and she cares, but she is oddly disconnected in the confusing chaos of Jamie’s world. Sexuality, female roles, and women’s identity drive this story that, at its heart, is vacuous, pessimistic, and oddly funny at times. The highlight of the film occurs when William tries to teach yoga to Dorothea. I really laughed. Perhaps the saddest aspect of the film from writer and director Mike Mills is how well he captures the era itself: the objectification of sex and the human person—and the ungenerous futures these characters choose, dictated by a transient culture. There is very little freedom or authentic meaning in the lives of these 20th-century women. A-3, R ■ Sexual themes, partial nudity, language.

Davis), both Oscar-nominated for their roles. Set in 1955, Troy goes to work as a garbage man and, at the end of each day, shares a drink with his friend Jim (Stephen Henderson), where they discuss opportunities lost. Troy was married before, and his grown son, Lyons (Russell Hornsby), a struggling musician, comes by to ask for loans. Cory (Jovan Adepo) is the teen son of Troy and Rose, who wants to play college football. Troy, who almost made it to Major League Baseball, discourages his son at every turn. Troy, who is at once loving and bullying, talks too much. The script could have lost a page or two of dialogue and would not have been missed in the screen adaptation. Viola Davis, as the faithful wife and mother, shines and leaves Denzel soundly in the cinematic dust in terms of performance. Henderson, as Troy’s closest friend, is very good, too. A-3, PG-13 ■ Mature themes, language, an episode of domestic violence.

Denzel Washington and Viola Davis scored Oscar nominations for their acclaimed work in August Wilson’s Fences.

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

General patronage Adults and adolescents Adults Limited adult audience Morally offensive

■

The Catholic News Service Media Review Office gives these ratings. See usccb.org/movies.

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For additional film reviews, go to FranciscanMedia.org/movie-review.

March 2017 ❘

CHANNEL SURFING

WITH CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Tuesdays, 8 p.m., Investigation Discovery If Saturday Night Live parodies you over 40 years, you’ve secured a place in the pop culture hall of fame, as Barbara Walters has. Caricatures aside, respect should be paid to Walters for being a barrier breaker for female journalists. And at age 87, the veteran television journalist is still at it with her latest investigative series, American Scandals. Walters revisits some of our nation’s most unforgettable crimes, illustrating why they continue to echo in our national consciousness. Walters’ sit-down with actor Robert Blake, who was tried and acquitted for the 2001 murder of his wife, was riveting. As was her one-one-one with John Ramsey, who fell under worldwide suspicion, as did his late wife, Patsy, for the 1996 murder of their young daughter, JonBenét. But channel surfers should look closer. American Scandals is no tawdry tabloid tellall. Unlike most of the shows on Investigation Discovery—which has become a repository for salacious true-crime exposés (Wives with Knives, anyone?)—Walters brings her journalistic know-how to her work here. She still isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions, seeking to unearth long-buried truths. This makes American Scandals a cut above its contemporaries. But more to the point: Walters’ series is honest and a of lot fun.

Olive Kitteridge

PHOTO BY HEIDI GUTMAN/ABC

Available on Netflix Based on Elizabeth Strout’s 2008 Pulitzer Prizewinning novel of the same name, Olive Kitteridge is a provocative look at a New England family in crisis. Frances McDormand, in a performance of simmering power, plays Olive, a retired schoolteacher so abrasive she makes sandpaper feel like a plush blanket. The four-part HBO miniseries opens with Olive walking into the woods to kill herself. The film then goes back 25 years to her younger life. Married to Henry (Richard Jenkins, always watchable), and the mother of Christopher, Olive is brilliant, embittered, and restless. She’s smarter than everyone around her and behaves as though life is a scratchy, ill-fitting wool sweater: nothing feels quite right. How Olive navigates her day-to-day life mending as many bridges as she burns is the heartbeat of this miniseries, and channel surfers would be wise to give it a chance. Lisa Cholodenko’s fearless direction is matched by Jane Anderson’s pitch-perfect script, both of which explore the meaning of family, personal identity, brokenness, and healing. The supporting players are noteworthy, but McDormand is the draw here. Only an actor of her caliber can embody a character so unlikable, yet keep her grounded and sympathetic. Olive is a despondent force of nature, but when she finds life ultimately redemptive, her icy exterior melts to reveal a spirit hungry for warmth.

John Ramsey, father of JonBenét Ramsey, and his current wife, Jan, are featured on Barbara Walters’ show American Scandals. 8 ❘

March 2017

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

PHOTO BY JOJO WHILDEN/HBO

Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals

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CHURCH IN THE NEWS

❘ BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER

Vice President Addresses March for Life

CNS PHOTO/YURI GRIPAS, REUTERS

governmental organizations receiving US funds from performing or promoting abortion as a method of family planning in other countries. The policy is named after the city that hosted the UN International Conference on Population in 1984— where President Reagan, then in his first term, unveiled it. It has been the textbook definition of a political football. Adopted by a Republican president, it has been rescinded when Democrats sat in the White House, only to be restored when Republicans claimed the presidency.

US Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a rally at the annual March for Life in Washington, DC, on January 27. US Vice President Mike Pence addressed participants at the annual March for Life in Washington, DC, on January 27, telling them that “life is winning in America, and today is a celebration of that progress,” reported Catholic News Service (CNS). Pence is the highest government official to address the annual event in person. He did, though, speak at the march in 2002, 2003, and 2007, when he was a member of Congress. He told participants that President Donald Trump asked him to thank them “for their support, for your stand for life, and your compassion for the women and children of America.” Pence urged participants “to press on. Let your gentleness be evident to all. Let this movement be known for love, not anger. Let this movement be known for compassion, not confrontation. When it comes to matters of the heart, there is nothing stronger than gentleness. I believe 1 0 ❘ Ma rch 201 7

we will continue to win the minds and hearts of the rising generation if our hearts first break for mothers and their unborn children and meet them where they are with generosity, not judgment. To heal our land and restore a culture of life, we must continue to be a movement that embraces all and shows the dignity and worth of every person.” Earlier in the week, during his first major news interview as president, the issue of the March for Life came up when ABC’s David Muir asked Trump if he was able to hear the crowds from the women’s marches that took place in Washington, DC. Trump responded that he was not and then pointed out, “You’re gonna have a large crowd on Friday, too, which is mostly pro-life people. And they say the press doesn’t cover them.” Just days before the march, the president issued an executive memorandum reinstating the “Mexico City Policy,” which bans all foreign non-

Cardinal O’Malley Named to Vatican Congregation Cardinal Seán O’Malley, head of the Archdiocese of Boston, has been appointed by Pope Francis to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reported CNS. The Vatican made the announcement on January 14, along with other papal appointments. The congregation deals with doctrinal questions, as well as the application of Catholic moral teaching. It also works to coordinate efforts to rid the Church of sexual abuse and monitors or conducts cases against individual abusers. Cardinal O’Malley will join 26 other cardinal and bishop members, along with 28 consulting theologians, in advising the congregation. Cardinal O’Malley currently serves as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He is also one of the nine members of the Council of Cardinals that has been assisting Pope Francis with the reform of the administration of the Roman Curia. Msgr. Robert W. Oliver, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

CNS/PARAMOUNT

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

The McDonald’s restaurant located near the Vatican recently joined with “Medicina Solidale” (“Solidarity Medicine”) and the papal almoner’s office, which gives the pope’s charitable aid to the homeless around the Vatican, to distribute 1,000 meals to poor men and women who often find shelter in and around St. Peter’s Basilica. Beginning January 16, volunteers distributed 100 meals a week for 10 consecutive Mondays. Lucia Ercoli, director of “Medicina Solidale,” said the program is “the beginning of a dialogue” with McDonald’s to expand in the future. The abortion rate in the United States is down to its lowest level since the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling made abortion legal. A study released by the Guttmacher Institute on January 17, shows that the abortion rate for US women ages 15–44 was 14.6 per 1,000 in 2014, the last year for which statistics are available. The figure represents a 14-percent decline from the 2011

Protection of Minors, told CNS that Cardinal O’Malley’s experience leading three US dioceses confronting the abuse of minors by clergy will provide an important perspective to the doctrinal congregation. The cardinal will bring “the experience of local bishops who have been there” in terms of handling abuse accusations, and will help the congregation as it deals with new cases coming in from different parts of the world, the monsignor explained. Fr ancisca n Media .org

numbers, and less than half of the 1981 rate of 29.4 abortions per 1,000 women of child-bearing age. Following weeks of public tensions with the Vatican, Fra Matthew Festing, the head of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, submitted his resignation on January 28. Festing’s offer to resign came after Pope Francis set up a commission to investigate Festing’s removal of the order’s grand chancellor, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager. A member of the commission told CNS on January 25 that Pope Francis received the commission report before meeting with Festing and asking for his resignation. The order is made up of more than 13,500 knights and dames worldwide; about 50 of them are professed religious, having taken vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The pope appointed a delegate to oversee the “spiritual renewal” of the order’s professed members, for whom Cardinal Raymond Burke is chaplain.

CNS/MARIA GRAZIA PICCIARELLA, POOL

Actor Andrew Garfield, who stars in the Martin Scorsese film Silence, says he underwent the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, as part of his preparation for the role. Father James Martin, SJ, editor-at-large of America magazine, a Jesuit journal, served as Garfield’s spiritual adviser for the process. The actor told CNS, “I studied with Father Martin all things Jesuit and attempted to crack what it means to be a soldier for Christ. The basis of that was the exercises for me.”

The Vatican Museum has established a YouTube channel and revamped its website. The “Musei Vaticani” YouTube channel lists short visual “tours” of some of its collections along with a handful of promotional videos. The new website—museivaticani.va—now offers high-resolution images and mobile-friendly information. For more Catholic news, visit FranciscanMedia.org/ catholic-news.

Pope Francis Sends Greetings to President Trump On the day of President Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th president of the United States, Pope Francis sent a message to the president saying, “I offer you my cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office,” reported CNS. The pope added that

he would pray that Trump’s decisions “will be guided by the rich spiritual and ethical values that have shaped the history of the American people and your nation’s commitment to the advancement of human dignity and freedom worldwide.” The same day, in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais, Pope Francis was asked if he has concerns about Trump’s presidency. “Being afraid or rejoicing beforehand because of something that might happen is, in my view, quite M a rch 2 0 1 7 ❘ 1 1

CNS PHOTO/CARLOS BARRIA, REUTERS

US Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump stand for the singing of the national anthem after Trump’s swearing-in as the country’s 45th president in Washington.

1 2 ❘ Ma rch 201 7

tant denominations, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Mormon, Buddhist, Greek Orthodox, Baha’i, and other faiths.

Church Leaders Respond to Refugee Ban Following President Donald Trump’s January 29 executive order banning refugees from entering the United States, Catholic leaders across the country spoke out, calling the action “devastating” and “cruel.” Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago issued a statement the same day, in which he said, “This weekend proved to be a dark moment in US history. The executive order to turn away

CNS PHOTO/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ

reckless. We will see. We will see what he does and then we will judge—always on the concrete. Christianity either is concrete or it is not Christianity,” he said. At the start of President Trump’s inauguration, New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan offered a reading from the Book of Wisdom in which King Solomon prays for wisdom to lead Israel according to God’s will, reported CNS. Cardinal Dolan, who appeared on the podium with three other faith leaders, said he was “flattered” to be asked to participate. He said that he knew some people would not like the fact that he was participating, but pointed out: “We pastors and religious leaders are in the sacred enterprise of prayer. People ask us to pray with them and for them. That doesn’t mean we’re for them or against them,” he added. The day after the inauguration, leaders of different faith communities gathered at the Washington National Cathedral for an interfaith prayer service. President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were in attendance, along with Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, members of their families, other administration officials, and invited guests. They were joined by Washington’s Cardinal Donald Wuerl, as well as leaders of Episcopalian and Protes-

refugees and to close our nation to those, particularly Muslims, fleeing violence, oppression, and persecution is contrary to both Catholic and American values. “Have we not repeated the disastrous decisions of those in the past who turned away other people fleeing violence, leaving certain ethnicities and religions marginalized and excluded? We Catholics know that history well, for, like others, we have been on the other side of such decisions.” Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration, said, “We believe that now more than ever, welcoming newcomers and refugees is an act of love and hope.” The USCCB runs the largest refugee resettlement program in the United States and advocates for refugee and immigrant rights. Bishop Vasquez said the Church would continue to engage the Trump administration, as it had with other administrations for 40 years. “We will work vigorously to ensure that refugees are humanely welcomed in collaboration with Catholic Charities without sacrificing our security or our core values as Americans, and to ensure that families may be reunified with their loved ones,” Bishop Vasquez explained. A

People protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies during a demonstration near the White House in Washington, DC, on January 25. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

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Before He In his book Pilgrimage, this best-selling author tells of his journey to the villas of Buenos Aires, among those who worked with the future pope. BY MARK K. SHRIVER

ROM AGE 23 TO 28, I ran a nonprofit I had created

in Baltimore, monitoring juvenile delinquents seven days a week, every day of the year. Our caseworkers would check in with them three to five times a day, waking them up in the morning, making sure they were at school, making sure they were at an after-

school job or in bed at night. It was an intensive outreach program designed to steer troubled youths down the right path. Cherry Hill was then, and to a large degree still is, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Baltimore. PS 180—later named after the principal of the school, Arnett Brown, a man I worked with, a man who didn’t need the public address system because his voice was so powerful—was struggling to keep the kids engaged, motivated, and in school. Yet I never felt scared driving through

Mark Shriver and his family attend a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on September 23, 2015, during the pope’s historic visit to the United States.

the neighborhood. Maybe it was because I had driven through it so often that no one bothered me, or maybe it was because I was young and naive. I am proud to say, though, that not one member of our staff was ever attacked in that neighborhood. I was excited at the prospect of visiting Villa 21-24, one of the socalled villas miserias (“misery housing,” or slums), where Jorge Bergoglio had spent much time as a bishop in Buenos Aires. When I told an Argentine pal of mine that I was going, he said, “Are you crazy? I lived in Buenos Aires until I was 18, and I go back a couple of times a year. I have never been over there. No one goes there. It’s dangerous as hell.” Well, it couldn’t be worse than Baltimore, could it?

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

Was Francis

(Left to right) Cardinal Bergoglio washes the feet of residents at a shelter for drug users during Holy Thursday Mass, 2008, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The future pope and Father Pepe listen during a youth group meeting in 2005 at a trade school in Villa 21-24. Cardinal Bergoglio, who often used public transportation, walks through a subway turnstile in Buenos Aires in 2008. Even as pope, Francis favors a modest ride, choosing a humble Fiat when he visited the United States in 2015.

PHOTOS (L–R): MARK K. SHRIVER; CNS/ENRIQUE GARCIA MEDINA, REUTERS; COURTESY OF THE DI PAOLA FAMILY; CNS/DIEGO FERNANDEZ OTERO, CLARIN HANDOUT VIA REUTERS

Among the Poor The concept of priests working in the slums— in places as dangerous as Villa 21-24—was not new when Bergoglio was named auxiliary bishop in 1992; priests worked and lived in the villas in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Father Yorio and his Jesuit colleagues lived with the poor then, but perhaps the bestknown cleric working with the poor was Father Carlos Mugica, a diocesan priest. Mugica was from a wealthy family and had movie-star looks. Some thought that he supported the Montoneros in their fight to overthrow the government; others saw him as the embodiment of the Church’s commitment to the poor. He was a colleague and friend of Yorio, and, though Mugica never supported the use of violence, he became even better known— and more controversial—when he celebrated the funeral Mass for the first members of the Montonero movement killed in 1970. Mugica would be gunned down outside his church in Buenos Aires in 1974 by the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA) aramilitary squad that was created by a member of Juan Perón’s cabinet in 1973. The AAA killed hundreds of people between 1973 and 1975. Mugica’s death turned him into a revered martyr among those who believed the Church should fight for the poor. Fr anciscanMedia.org

Bergoglio continued and deepened this outreach to the poor, particularly in Villa 21-24, which would come to have a special place in his heart. In 1993, he met Father José Maria di Paola, often called Father Pepe, who would eventually become the cura villero—the pastor of Villa 21-24. Before that happened, though, Pepe had a vocational crisis. Shortly after he met Bergoglio, and almost seven years after being ordained a priest, Pepe thought about leaving the priesthood to start a family. In an interview with Avvenire newspaper in Rome, Pepe explained that he went to work in a shoe factory for a year, and during that time, he formed a very deep bond with Bergoglio: “When I told [Bergoglio] I was going through this crisis, he did not force the hand of fate. He just said: ‘Whenever you would like, please come and see me.’ He inspired much confidence in me, and I began to see him once a month. I remember it took me roughly two to three hours to arrive at the cathedral from where I was working. He always waited for me; I knew he would wait for me. He used to come to open the door for me. He accompanied me during that period of deep crisis as a father would—with great pride of the soul. He never told me what I was supposed to do, March 2017 ❘

CNS PHOTO/DAVID AGREN

COURTESY OF THE DI PAOLA FAMILY

Above: Shown here in 2014, Father José Maria di Paola, known as Father Pepe, ministered in the shantytowns of Buenos Aires for nearly 20 years. (Right): Coadjutor Archbishop Bergoglio speaks at the inauguration of a chapel in Villa 21-24 on September 13, 1997, assisted by Father Pepe. The future pope was a mentor to Father Pepe.

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or not supposed to do. He listened, he was interested, and he spoke with clarity of thought. But always with a freedom of thought. He accompanied me on this road of doubt and crisis with full freedom, and with this, I was able to recognize through his counsel that my vocation was indeed to be a priest, much like the story of the prodigal son.” In April 1994, Pepe was ready to return. He approached Bergoglio and said, “‘Father, here I am. I would like very much to celebrate the Mass.’ Bergoglio hugged me, and he was very happy. He said to me, ‘Shall we celebrate Mass on the Day of Friendship, the 20th of July? If so, let’s celebrate Mass at St. Ignatius. I will be saying Mass there because a woman has asked me to offer her a confession.’ “I did not know at the time that this woman was an ex-prostitute and that her friends also were prostitutes, but it was in this Mass that I resumed my role as priest, united with Bergoglio—and saying that Mass together with Bergoglio was incredibly significant.” Pepe worked in Villa 21-24 for nearly 14 years, building more than 10 chapels, a kindergarten, a vocational school, a drug-addiction recovery center, a drug-prevention center for youth, four small shelters, dining halls, and more. His efforts to prevent youth from becoming drug addicts and to help those struggling with addiction led to conflict with drug dealers. His life was threatened repeatedly, and eventually Bergoglio had to move Pepe out of Villa 21-24. Pepe was succeeded by his friend Father Lorenzo de Vedia, better known as Father Toto, who had worked with him in Villa 21-24 previously.

Into the Villa On my third day in Buenos Aires, I was fortunate to meet friends of a friend, two women named Paz Alonso and Magui Alonso, who are not related but are both huge admirers of the pope. They volunteer for Toto in Villa 2124 and were driving me to meet him and to walk through the villa. Magui, 30, and Paz, 32, both had a faith and enthusiasm for the Church that is rare in people their age. They spoke rapid-fire, often interrupting each other, about the effect their countryman is having on their convictions. As we got on the highway, the subject shifted to soccer, and Magui parted ways with her beloved Pope Francis. “He roots for San Lorenzo. I like Boca Juniors, and Boca Juniors is a far better team,” she said. We were on the highway and Magui was driving. We started to speed even faster than we were already going. It was a nerve-racking drive to the villa, but both women were fun and easy to be around. As we approached Villa 21-24, though, the conversation turned more somber. “We are getting close,” Magui said. The streets were no longer grand boulevards filled with stores and restaurants; now there were empty storefronts and young men hanging out on the street corners. “Those are gang members selling drugs,” she explained. “This is a dangerous area. We need to keep moving.” Maybe it was because I was no longer in my mid-20s and single—or perhaps I had lost my naïveté, or maybe it was because I was in a foreign country on unfamiliar turf with my friend’s words (“Are you crazy? It’s dangerous St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

Father Toto, Friend of Francis The wall behind the altar was painted with men and women and babies and young children praying together. Another framed photograph of a smiling Pope Francis was nailed to the wall. Chunks of this wall were missing as well. The ceiling was corrugated tin. A collection of chairs lined the wall, each a different size and shape. If the priest had the fanciest one, I couldn’t tell which it was. Toto walked into the church, smiled, and shook my hand heartily. “Good afternoon,” he said in Spanish. “Come this way. I have people that want to talk to you.” Toto was thin, stood about five feet eight, and resembled no other priest I had ever seen. He was balding with a small goatee and an unshaven face; his sparkling eyes darted around Fr anciscanMedia.org

COURTESY OF MAGUI ALONSO AND PAZ ALONSO

as hell!”) ringing in my head—but for whatever reason, I was scared. We made a turn and Magui said, “OK, here we go.” The road became bumpy. What is going on? It was as if I was leaving one country and entering a totally different one. “Hold tight,” Magui said, reading my mind. “We will be at Father Toto’s in a minute.” We bumped along until we pulled up in front of a nondescript building. “This is his church. Let’s get out,” Magui said. I looked around for the church but didn’t see what I was expecting. There was no big building like the church I attend on Sundays in Potomac, Maryland; there was no grand structure like the Basílica de San José in Flores. I followed Magui and Paz through a door into what looked like a big car-repair shop. “Is this the church?” I asked Magui. “No, that is next door. This is where people gather. Father Toto’s office is over there,” she explained, waving her hand. I couldn’t make out any office—just a couple of doors in the corner of this car-repair-like area. “People gather in here?” I asked, confused. “Yes, for the big celebrations,” Magui said. “We slide open that door over there so that all the people can go to Mass. Let’s go this way and I will show you.” We walked through a doorway and into a church—actually, it was more like a chapel. “It’s beautiful, right?” Magui said. It wasn’t a question as much as a statement. “See that door in the middle? It slides open so all the people can go to Mass.”

the chapel, taking in the scene quickly. He wore a sports jacket with the logo and colors of the Argentine national soccer team, an open-collared shirt underneath. He turned around quickly and led me out of the chapel and toward the back of the garage area. As he walked, a couple of guys off to the side called out his name. He yelled something back to them and waved. They all laughed. He opened a door, and we headed into the bowels of the structure. A few yards into it, Toto opened a door that led to what must once have been a small storage room. He asked me to sit down in front of his cluttered desk. A rusty old fan bolted into the wall blew warm air around the small space. There were pictures all over the walls, with statues of Jesus and various saints in nooks and crannies. “Someone’s coming who wants to tell you stories about Bergoglio,” he said. At that moment, there was a knock, and before anyone could answer it, the door opened and in walked a man, whom Toto introduced as Dario. Toto told me, “Dario knew the pope very well. Both in the good and in the bad, he is like the pope.”

Magui Alonso, left, and Paz Alonso, right, work with Father Toto as volunteers in Villa 21-24. The young women speak with enthusiasm about Pope Francis and the Church.

A Church Close to the People “I think that in Buenos Aires, maybe in all of Argentina, this parish has the greatest participation of men in the parish activities,” Dario told me. “Of course,” Toto said matter-offactly. “And Bergoglio was often with the men’s group. He supported that original idea. Bergoglio was very close to us. Any priest that called, he would answer immediately, and if he was busy at that moment, he would attend March 2017 ❘

CNS PHOTO/DAVID AGREN

The wall behind the altar provides a colorful backdrop for this portrait of Father Lorenzo de Vedia, pastor of Our Lady of Caacupé Parish in Villa 21-24, taken on June 30, 2015. As archbishop, Pope Francis “had a very good relationship with the people, and he was very helpful,” Father Lorenzo recalled.

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to us in five or 10 minutes, and for any personal matter, too. He represents a way of being of the Church that many of us had been wanting here in Latin America for quite a long time: a Church closer to the people, a missionary Church, simpler, more austere. He represents that.” “He’s very humble,” Dario added. “Bergoglio would come here on the bus; previous archbishops of Buenos Aires would come in a car with a chauffeur,” Toto continued. “He, from the start, would come on the bus.” “He really came by bus?” I asked. “Yes, yes, yes,” Toto replied. “On the bus. Like regular people. Always. He would get off at the bus stop and walk the four blocks. He would arrive here and he would drink maté with the people.” “He shared lunch with the people,” Dario added, “under the metal roof in the kitchen many times. Not only once, many times.” “He had a very good relationship with the people, and he was very helpful,” Toto went on. “He would support all the social projects that we had here in the villa. For example, in April of 2012, there was a strong storm in Buenos Aires, and the roofs collapsed in two gymnasiums where the kids played soccer. These are special places in the villa because there is very little space for children to play. One was in our Hogar de Cristo (House of Christ), where the kids who are recovering from addiction play soccer. That roof collapsed, as did the roof of a building belonging to

another group in the neighborhood linked to politics, not the Church. The next day, I called him asking him to help us get the funds to repair it. Before the end of the year, we were able to repair ours, thanks to the quick help from Bergoglio. The other one, to this day [November 2014], has not yet been repaired.” I asked Toto why he wasn’t wearing a traditional priest’s collar. I had seen plenty of Jesuits without collars, but rarely had I seen a diocesan priest without one, especially in his own church. “It is very common in the barrios to dress very casually, without so much religious attire,” Toto replied. “Did Bergoglio get upset about that?” I asked. “That also was a change,” Toto replied. “Before, when I was a seminarian or in my first years as a priest, when one had to visit the archbishop, one would have to wear a jacket. With Bergoglio, that was no longer necessary. He respected everyone for what they were. If one preferred to dress more formally, he would respect that, but if one was dressed casually, he would also respect him. He was very respectful of our way of being.” Dario then told me that he was responsible for barbecuing the meat for the big festivities in the parish. More than 400 people attended, including Cardinal Bergoglio. “I was here in the group, when Bergoglio blessed the meal, and then we served lunch to everyone. That happened many times.” As we said our good-byes, I took one last look inside the chapel. There was Toto, behind the altar, celebrating Mass. The chapel was almost empty; a couple of women sat in the last two pews with babies on their laps, and one guy stood in the corner, his hand on the feet of a statue of Mary, his head bowed. I made eye contact with Toto. He smiled at me, nodded, and continued with the Mass. This is what Bergoglio meant when he said he wanted a pastor with mud on his shoes, a shepherd who smells like his sheep. I could not imagine coming here on my vacation days—but I was starting to better understand the essence of this new Bergoglio. A

Mark K. Shriver is president of Save the Children Action Network. He is a former Maryland legislator and author of the best-selling A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver. The preceding article is excerpted from his new book, Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis (Penguin Random House). St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

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Jesus’ Keynote Addresses Despite their differences, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke point to the power and breadth of Christ’s message for us.

HAT BETTER DIRECTION for our life can there be than Jesus’ own keynote addresses? They invite us to appreciate ever more deeply both God’s amazing love and our vocation to live as faithful disciples of Jesus. They lead us to refocus our attention on who we are and what we do by contemplating the identity and mission of Jesus. There are two different but complementary keynotes to ground and guide our lives: Luke 4:14–30 and Matthew 5:1–7:29.

Luke: Jesus in Nazareth “Jesus returned to Galilee. . . . He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. . . . ‘The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the

When Jesus healed the lame man, he gave us all an example to follow. Through our Baptism, the Spirit has anointed us to bring God’s reign into the world.

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Lord.’ He said to them, ‘Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.’” Luke uses passages from the prophet Isaiah in describing the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. This marvelous and powerful scene in Nazareth is rich with statements about Jesus’ identity and mission and full of implications for our lives as disciples of Jesus. It presents the Gospel in miniature. This passage is truly a keynote, establishing the basic themes of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus, the anointed one (the Messiah, the Christ), teaches and heals and proclaims the presence of God’s reign. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises for the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned. Indeed, Luke’s Gospel goes on to describe many examples of Jesus teaching, caring for the poor, and healing, including Peter’s mother-in-law and a leper. Then, when some disciples of John the Baptist ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come?” Jesus replies, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Lk 7:20–22). God’s reign is breaking into the world through Jesus. And it continues to happen today—through us. Adapting Isaiah’s words in Luke’s scene: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us, because the Spirit has anointed us to bring glad tidings to the poor. The Spirit has sent us to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. . . .” Amazing, isn’t it? And absolutely true! We have been anointed by the Spirit in our Baptism. We have been deeply loved by our gentle St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

PHOTOS BY EUGENE PLAISTED, OSC

BY KENNETH R. OVERBERG, SJ

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry began in the synagogue when he read Isaiah’s words from the scroll. Those words announced Jesus’ mission—and ours.

God, experiencing God’s favor in so many ways. We have been sent out to proclaim glad tidings. It is good for us to remember and celebrate our identity, rooted in the life and teachings of Jesus. It is good for us to hear again our call to follow him. It is good for us to find renewed courage and wisdom in order to teach, to heal, and to free. For that is what we do in very ordinary ways, with dayto-day details.

From Praise to Conflict in Luke’s Gospel Let’s return to Luke’s Gospel and reenter the scene of Jesus’ keynote address. The passage speaks of “the year of the Lord’s favor” (4:19, NRSV), tapping into those special feelings of the jubilee when people returned to their homes, debts were canceled, and slaves were set free. Even the structures of social and economic life are to reflect God’s reign. Almost immediately, however, the scene turns sour as his own people drive Jesus out of town (4:24– 30). And so Luke introduces other key themes of Jesus’ life and ministry: conflict and rejection. The threat here is finally fulfilled in the Crucifixion. Along with the rejection by the people of Nazareth comes an essential Lukan theme: universalism. The good news is for all people, not just for Israel. By the time Luke’s Gospel was written, the story of Jesus had moved beyond March 2017 ❘

Matthew: Jesus on the Hillside “He began to teach them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. . . . Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’” 22 ❘

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PHOTO BY EUGENE PLAISTED, OSC

the boundaries of Palestine. Indeed, Luke’s community existed as a result of this move. We see even more clearly in his second volume, the Acts of the Apostles, that Luke emphasizes the spread of the Gospel to the whole world. This more sobering part of Luke’s keynote scene also speaks to us. As disciples of Jesus, we, too, encounter conflict and rejection. We live in a culture and world marked by individualism, consumerism, and violence of all kinds. Jesus’ message and example of healing and gentleness are desperately needed and yet are consistently rejected by the powers of domination. We also know that much conflict occurs within the Church itself. Suspicion, bitterness, and opposition all too often infect the body of Christ. We, too, are rejected by our own people. So Jesus’ example of faithful ministry, whatever the threat, is especially important. Relying on God’s promise, we desire to share the good news with all the world, starting with our own communities. We desire to follow Jesus in crossing boundaries that separate people. Yet in all this we also acknowledge our own limits, even sinfulness. We, too, reject other members of our community. We, too, get trapped in sexism, racism, and classism, and so we build barriers between our sisters and brothers, failing to see them as images of God. We need to turn to another scene in Luke’s Gospel (15:11–32), the story of the prodigal son, and to trust that the forgiving father rushes out to meet us in loving compassion.

The Sermon on the Mount teaches us a countercultural way of life. It calls us to accept the challenge of being Jesus’ disciples. The Sermon on the Mount serves as the keynote address in Matthew’s Gospel. We hear Jesus the teacher. For Matthew’s community, Jesus was wisdom incarnate, and much of the sermon is rooted in the Jewish wisdom tradition. In this tradition, the questions continually asked were these: Is the life of wisdom and righteousness really worth the effort? Will God vindicate the just? Can one meet persecution and death with the hope that one’s destiny is in God’s hands? In the Sermon on the Mount, we hear Jesus offering us ideals and insights into life in God’s reign. If we are honest, we probably have to admit that Jesus’ vision surprises us. As expressed in the Beatitudes (5:3– 12) and throughout the Sermon on the Mount, it just does not make sense. What makes sense is to make lots of money, to have security and power. Jesus says that happy are the poor in spirit and those who hunger for righ-

teousness. What makes sense is to create tougher laws and to enforce the death penalty. Jesus urges people to be merciful and to love their enemies. What makes sense is that we harbor anger and resentment toward a spouse or parent, a stranger or terrorist. Jesus teaches forgiveness and prayer for persecutors. In so many ways in his life and teachings, Jesus surprises us, turning our expectations upside down, helping us to appreciate the difference and newness of the reign of God. Still we get trapped in what makes sense according to our culture, to common sense, even to some religious custom.

Challenge and Trust in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus teaches very countercultural wisdom. Probably the most challenging in the entire sermon is to be nonviolent, to love your enemies, to pray for your persecutors (5:38–48). St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

As a beginning of our response, it is very important to reflect on what really are our wisdom sources. What grounds our lives and directs our everyday decisions? We ponder the Scriptures and gather for the Eucharist, desiring to live our lives according to the Gospel. But there is so much competition! From advertising and television, from movies and music and social media, from business and politics, we get many contradictory messages about what is really important in life. Throughout our societies we encounter structures and decisions that support authoritarian power rather than authentic leadership, which increase fear and alienation and in many ways contradict the consistent ethic of life. And all these can subtly shape our dayto-day lives. In this context of competition of basic values, we hear Jesus’ message: be nonviolent. An accurate interpretation of Jesus’ examples (turn the left cheek, give both garments, walk an extra mile) helps us to understand that he is not preaching passivity. Walter Wink’s marvelous explanation in Engaging the Powers (pp. 175–184) shows how Jesus encourages creative, nonviolent resistance that promotes human dignity. Jesus’ directives help the oppressed seize the initiative to protest humiliation and institutionalized inequality, even when structural change is not possible. What a challenge! Our lives are saturated with violence—from cartoons to crime shows to foreign policy and even to some of our theology. The constant message is that violence saves. But Jesus urges us to break old patterns, to interrupt the cycle of violence, to be creatively nonviolent, to imagine a way in which no one lives at the expense of the other. Love your enemies. An honest examination of consciousness might reveal just who our enemies are. Some religious or political figure? The boss? A parent? Myself? Jesus moves beyond his heritage that was expressed in Leviticus and calls us to love our neighbor and our enemies. Pray for your persecutors. Jesus teaches us that such action best reflects Abba, God, who sends rain not only Fr anciscanMedia.org

on the just but also on the unjust, sunlight on the good and the bad (5:45). In faith, we come to understand that Jesus reveals more of what human beings can be because there is more to God than we think. Here is a new kind of wisdom: pray for those who persecute you. Jesus’ vision of life in God’s reign challenges our instinctive and commonsense responses to the horrors and violence in our world. Jesus models for us compassion and justice, reconciliation and love. Jesus calls us to

transformed and transforming actions that resist evil nonviolently and promote the flourishing of all life. Jesus’ countercultural wisdom is rooted in his intimate, loving relationship with Abba, God. Throughout the Gospels we catch glimpses of this profound relationship expressed in Jesus’ words and deeds. The Sermon on the Mount points to the deep trust Jesus had in God and to Jesus’ desire that others also experience this trust. “Your Father knows what you need before you ask” (6:8).

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(wealth) or God’s loving presence the basis for all our behavior? While the worldwide issues are of great significance for all humanity, especially the poorest who suffer most intensely, for many of us the more immediate challenge comes from living in a consumer society. Advertising preaches the market gospel. We turn things into people and people into things. In our societies, more possessions mean more happiness. Consumption becomes an addiction. Wisdom Incarnate presents a differ-

“If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you?” (Mt 6:30)

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ent vision, cautioning against excessive worry about eating and drinking and clothing. In emphasizing proper priorities, Jesus is not discussing appropriate prudence and care. Rather, he is stressing the true wisdom of singleheartedness and dependence on God, suggesting that our experience of ordinary things like birds and flowers can give us a new perception, a glimpse of God’s enduring love. “If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you?” (6:30). Do not worry; trust in God.

Faithful Discipleship Jesus’ keynote addresses give us the opportunity to ponder the meaning of life, to glimpse the very core of God’s loving design, to respond as faithful disciples. With Jesus, we are called and anointed. With Jesus, we are sent out to teach, to heal, to free. With Jesus, we face conflict and rejection. With Jesus, we reach out to all with compassion, especially the economically, physically, and socially poor. With Jesus, we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. With Jesus, we proclaim glad tidings of healing and hope. A

C O N TA C T U S 1-800-461-3064 annuity@uscsvd.org w w w. a n n u i t y s v d . o r g 24 ❘

March 2017

Kenneth R. Overberg, SJ, is a professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, with over 30 years of experience teaching theology. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Conscience in Conflict: How to Make Moral Choices (Franciscan Media). St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

PHOTO © GUILLAUME DE GERMAIN/ UNSPLASH

There is also challenge. Jesus speaks about the choice we make concerning ultimate value in life. Where do we place our trust? Jesus is very direct: no one can serve two masters; no one can serve God and wealth (6:24). Ancient wisdom addresses contemporary challenges. We are overwhelmed with economic concerns, including worries about debts, loss of jobs, the number of people living in poverty. These are important issues. Jesus presses us to consider what is of ultimate value in the midst of these realities. Is mammon

AT HOME ON EARTH

❘ BY KYLE KRAMER

Mindful Driving

I’ve been learning this lately in an unexpected way: from owning an all-electric car, which I bought, used, several months ago. I could spend this column extolling the absurdly low overall cost of ownership or Conscientious how fun this smooth, quiet, Car Shopping spunky car is to drive—both are great incentives to make a Before you buy a vehicle, greener choice of vehicles. go to FuelEconomy.gov But what is most important is or use the Department of how this car has made me Energy’s eGallon tool to more mindful of my driving. see how much you will My car has a limited range, save or spend on gas, so I can’t simply hop in and compared to other models. go wherever I want. I have to put some forethought into If you want to consider an my route and avoid any all-electric car, buy used. If unnecessary miles. While I’m you buy a new one, howdriving, the car’s meters and ever, you will qualify for a gauges tell me exactly how $7,500 federal tax credit. much power I’m using, right down to the headlights and Worried about our depenwindshield wipers. When I dence on foreign oil? Elecput my foot in it, I see the tric cars run on 100 percent cost right away. When I drive domestically produced carefully, I immediately see energy, and most get the the benefit in terms of energy equivalent of over 100 saved or even regenerated. miles per gallon. In other words, my car’s limitations help me to pay attention and to make good, mindful choices. Doing so somehow feels more like a game and less like a constant test of my willpower. Living on a finite planet means being mindful about our consumption. Rather than wring our hands when our willpower fails us in this, we need to seek out and demand consumer choices that, to borrow a phrase from Dorothy Day, make it “easier for people to be good.” A

Respecting the environment does not mean we have to turn our backs on activities such as driving.

Kyle Kramer is the executive director of the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Fr ancisca n Media .org

M a rch 2 0 1 7 ❘ 2 5

PHOTO FROM PEXELS

uch of my environmental work as a Catholic has been learning and teaching how our tradition gives us a moral imperative to care for God’s creation—our common home. I’m coming to understand, however, that ethics alone cannot create harmony between human beings and our world. It takes tremendous moral willpower to swim against the current of a culture of conspicuous consumption and convenience. We have only so much willpower and, all too often, we’re willing to overlook or rationalize the various ways we harm our planet. If we can’t operate on moral stamina alone, what else can help us fulfill God’s call to steward creation well? Grace certainly can, as well as a deep love for God’s world and all its creatures. But since these ideals can seem very abstract, I want to explore the more practical idea of daily, mindful attentiveness to our world and the choices we make as we interact with it.

EDITORIAL

All the News That’s Fit to Share When we hit that Share button, what message are we sending?

magazine and as consumers. What are we choosing to feed ourselves and others when it comes to the news we are served?

What’s Your Source? Seek truth and report it. Minimize harm. Act independently. Be accountable and transparent. Those are the four principles that the Society of Professional Journalists says are the foundation of ethical journalism. These days, though, there seems to be a debate as to whether those codes are being regularly honored in reporting. We regularly hear phrases like “fake news” and “alternative facts.” The line has blurred so much between news reporting, satire, and commentary that it’s often hard to tell where the lines used to be. Thanks to our steady consumer diet of 24hour news, the world of communications has taken on a whole new look. Suddenly, the standards of journalism seem to have taken a hit. News outlets of various sizes and manner of communication seem to crop up almost daily, each offering its own unique take on reporting the news. Sometimes the news is factual. Sometimes it’s not. Often it’s a combination of both. A lot of times it’s hard to tell.

Wheat or Weeds In his 2017 message for World Communications Day, Pope Francis weighed in on the issue. “Access to the media—thanks to technological progress—makes it possible for countless people to share news instantly and spread it widely. That news may be good or bad, true or false.” He then noted that “the early Christians compared the human mind to a constantly grinding millstone; it is up to the miller to determine what it will grind: good wheat or worthless weeds. Our minds are always ‘grinding,’ but it is up to us to choose what to feed them.” That is our challenge—both here at this 2 6 ❘ Ma rch 201 7

It seems that not a day goes by that I don’t see someone sharing or citing an article that, with a minimal amount of digging, proves to be untrue. Yet there it is, being distributed as if it were the truth. Stop and think about the last time you shared an article on your social media feed. Did you do any checking before you hit the Share button? Do you know if the information the article contained was accurate? Or did you just share it because it supported your point of view? “But how am I supposed to know if it’s true or not?” you might ask. Good question. Do you remember the game “telephone”? In that game, a message gets passed from person to person until the last person says what he or she thinks the message is. Usually, the message ends up bearing very little resemblance to what was originally said. News reports can sometimes be like that. Someone makes a statement, which is then reported by someone else, and then that story is picked up as part of another story, and so on. Sometimes in the process, the original message can become a bit garbled and misconstrued. How do we counter that? We go back to the beginning. For instance, if you read a quote from Pope Francis that gives you pause, or makes you wonder about the context, go to the Vatican’s website. It has the texts of the pope’s talks right there. It never hurts to check something from multiple perspectives, either. Read a range of reports to get a multifaceted snapshot of the story. Be a diligent consumer of news. The reality is that the growth of the many outlets through which people get their news is not going to stop. That means we must figure out how we are going to foster the good wheat and counter the worthless weeds. Are you up for the challenge? —SHB St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

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The

Shack Christian Film with a Catholic Touch This religious book sold a whopping 20-plus million copies. Now it has been made into a major motion picture starring Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer. B Y S I S T E R R O S E PA C AT T E , F S P

N 2007, Canadian author William P. Young, with the help of two minister friends, self-published The Shack, a novel that he had written as a Christmas gift for his six children. It became a USA Today and New York Times best seller that has now sold over 20 million copies. Gil Netter, known for producing such films as The Blind Side and A Walk in the Clouds, has made this novel into a film that will be coming to US theaters for a March 3, 2017, release, timed for the weeks before Easter. The Shack is a challenging story because it goes where no filmmaker—or novelist for that matter—has gone before: into the imagined or visualized theological realm of the Holy Trinity engaging with human beings. The 15thcentury iconographer Andrei Rublev gave us an idea with his icon The Trinity that depicts sitting at a table three distinct angels whom Abraham welcomed in Genesis 18:1–8. As moviegoers, we’ve been to heaven often (e.g., Heaven Is for Real and The Tree of Life). We’ve met God the Father and God the Son (see box on p. 31). Perhaps we’ve experienced a sense of the action of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives via Hollywood. And goodness knows we’ve seen a lot of the devil. But the three divine persons of the Trinity have never been imagined together for cinema until now.

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The Catholic imagination is rich with metaphor, analogy, a sacramental sense of the people and things around us. God is present and active in the world, and the world is good. The Protestant imagination, by contrast, tends more to view God and reality in terms of either/or. The Protestant imagination tends to accent how things are unlike rather than similar; the Catholic imagination welcomes the paradox that both of these ways—unlike and similar—go together in imaging God. The Shack was written by a Protestant (in his own words, “fundamentalist and evangelical”). One of the film’s producers, Gil Netter, was raised Catholic. The two traditions find an outlet here. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

PHOTO BY JAKE GILES NETTER/LIONSGATE

The film is a cinematic poem that makes profound demands on our Catholic imagination because it requires us to visualize what the persons of the Trinity might look like and how they relate to us and we to them. Some evangelical Protestants this writer talked to were uncomfortable with The Shack until the idea of cinema art and the religious imagination entered the conversation.

Story of Loss and Connection Here’s the plot, in a nutshell. Because his wife, Nan (Radha Mitchell), has to go to a conference, Mack (Sam Worthington) gathers his three children—teens Josh (Gage Munroe) and Fr anciscanMedia.org

Kate (Megan Charpentier) and the youngest, Missy (Amélie Eve)—to go camping at the lake. On Sunday, Missy is drawing at the picnic table while Mack is packing up for home. Josh and Kate are in the canoe when it overturns. Mack runs to save Josh, who is pinned underneath and in danger of drowning. Meanwhile, Missy disappears. No one has seen her since. Despite a thorough search, they find only Missy’s red dress and bloodstains in an old shack. Her murderer and Missy are gone. A long time passes. Mack and the family still go to church, but Missy’s death is overwhelming. Kate blames herself because she was the one who unbal-

(Left to right) Jesus (Avraham Aviv Alush), Mack (Sam Worthington), Papa (Octavia Spencer), and Sarayu (Sumire Matsubara) gaze at the tree that grows in the garden where Mack’s murdered daughter was buried.

March 2017 ❘

PHOTOS BY JAKE GILES NETTER/LIONSGATE

(Above) Mack walks out of the cabin where he spends a sacred weekend. What was snow and cold is now, miraculously, welcoming warmth. (Right) Mack, before the tragedy of his young daughter’s death, looks bored and unhappy in church. His awakening to God is the heart of this film.

anced the canoe, causing the chain of events. Mack blames himself for not finding Missy. One weekend when the family is away, Mack plows the snow past the mailbox and sees a letter there, but no footprints leading up to the box. The few words invite Mack to the shack, and the letter is signed “Papa.” Mack decides to go back to the shack and confront, he thinks, the killer. He packs a gun and borrows his neighbor Willie’s (Tim McGraw) truck. The shack is a mess and unoccupied. Outside he sees someone behind the trees. It is a young man who invites Mack to follow him. There unwinds a story of Mack being introduced, one after the other, to Jesus (Avraham “Aviv” Alush) and the two women as “Papa” (Octavia Spencer) and Sarayu (Sumire Matsubara). Astonished and confused, Mack realizes he is in the presence of God, so he asks, “Which one of you is God?” They answer together: “I am.” Mack is polite at first, but his seething anger at God soon erupts. In his long encounter and conversation with God, Mack’s perspective on his daughter’s death—and his own life— changes. At a later time in the weekend, Papa explains why God is both mother and father: God—she—tells him that it is because he needed a mother’s comfort. It’s a long and mysterious experience for Mack.

The Producer’s First Interview Producer Gil Netter is a man who loves and respects a good story. He reads about 12 scripts a week and at least one book. He and his wife, 30 ❘

March 2017

Lani, a coproducer on the film, talked with me over lunch about making the film. I was surprised—and honored—when Gil told me that this interview was the first he had ever given in his 30-year career. Why? Because it was for St. Anthony Messenger. “This is the most significant film I’ve ever done. Because of the subject matter, that people will have discussions afterwards, and because it is a gift to my wife, it was important that my first interview be with a magazine like yours.” Lani says that what impressed her about the story was that it used “God’s love language for those who do not yet know him—or don’t really know him.” Gil adds: “Or don’t have a relationship with God—that’s what the story is really about. God created people with free will and it’s our free choice as to whether we want to have a relationship or not.” Sam Worthington, who plays Mack, said via an e-mail interview that he loves the themes of a forgiving God, forgiving yourself, and forgiving your enemies that he found in the script—he read the book afterward. He and his wife, Lara, had their first child (a son) just before filming began. “The love that he brought me and the feelings that he opened up in me and what it did to my wife and me, were so unbelievable. The tragedy that befalls St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

Movies Starring God ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ UMEROUS FILMS throughout the history of cinema depict the

second person of the Trinity, Jesus, but portraying God the Father proves much more challenging. How do we image God

as father? Jesus Christ became a human being. Who knows what God looks like? How can God be imaged in the concrete, visual medium of cinema? In classic biblical fashion, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956) uses symbols and sound for God. The unconsumed burning bush captures our imagination, as it did for Moses. Amid 20th-century secular humanism, filmmakers such as Carl Reiner gave God a human, reasoned image of a comedian. The Oh, God! trilogy cast George Burns as a crusty, cigar-smoking God. He tells Jerry Landers (John Denver), the assistant supermarket manager whom he has come to help, that he looks like he does because “I picked a look you’d understand.” Comedic expression provides a way of communicating what is difficult in everyday language. The art of story, laughter, and language often masks profound truths and existential questions. Director Tom

Fr anciscanMedia.org

Shadyac masterfully offers us a glimpse of who God is by highlighting God’s attributes in Bruce Almighty (2003) and Evan Almighty (2007). Morgan Freeman, as God, works miracles and commands nature while also showing God’s loving care for every human being. Artists continually grasp at communicating the spiritual, what is beyond our finite imagining. They touch profound truths when they give us pause to reflect deeply on the reality of God and God’s intimate closeness to us. —Sister Nancy Usselmann, FSP

UNIVERSAL PICTURES/PHOTOFEST

Mack triggered something deep within me. I, too, have held on to so much anger, fear, and guilt in my life. I thought it would be a disservice to the role if I didn't delve deep into these waters and allow my newfound pool of emotion and awareness to help color Mack’s character and his journey.” Octavia Spencer, who says you “cannot come from Georgia and not have a background in church,” tells St. Anthony Messenger that the story resonates with her because it addresses an “everyman’s story, including mine.” About portraying God, she says, “Honestly, I tossed and turned when I realized that I would be playing the Almighty. As actors we bring certain elements of ourselves into the various roles we play. The idea of somehow understanding—then executing—the omniscience and omnipresence of God became quite daunting, so I had to come at it from another angle. I had to truly see myself as parent and Sam's character as my child. Then, every door was somehow open for me. I felt a deep and emotional bond to him.” The movie is set in Oregon but was filmed in Canada. The beautiful cinematography showcases the outdoors as a mystical backdrop to God, who is our benevolent creator, loving redeemer, and joyful sanctifier.

This is not God’s first imagined appearance on the silver screen. Here, God (Morgan Freeman) puts Bruce (Jim Carrey) to the test in 2003’s Bruce Almighty. March 2017 ❘

PHOTOS BY JAKE GILES NETTER/LIONSGATE

This film forces us to think. Octavia Spencer reaching out as God the Father challenges a tidy image of God, who is larger than we can imagine.

Mack, like St. Peter, loves fishing. But when Jesus invites him to leave the boat, his faith and hope are called forth to a new depth—atop the water!

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Images of God I didn’t read the book until after I first saw the film last October. I was not prepared to like the film since, in my experience, Christian films tend to lead with a lesson rather than the story, coming off as preachy. But this film took me in immediately. Mack’s personal history as a child, with his abusive father, is achingly real. Mack realizes only now that God has been looking out for him all his life. But it is the Holy Trinity that dwells in this story. Some have expressed concern over the book’s theology, but perhaps that isn’t an issue for the film. The screenwriters, John Fusco, Andrew Lanham, and Daniel Cretton, successfully smoothed out the book’s wordy dialogue. Catholic faith, in its broadest sense, is reflected on the screen. The Trinity is artistically and artfully presented as one, true God in three divine persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Thinking of God as both father and mother is reminiscent of Henri Nouwen’s meditation on Rembrandt’s Prodigal Son masterpiece. Father Nouwen (1932–1996) points out that the father’s hands on the prodigal’s shoulder are both masculine and feminine. Every visual element and sound in The Shack is there on purpose. Director Stuart Hazeldine gives us images and sequences that point to salvation history in the Scriptures; sacraments, especially Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, and Confirmation, are present, as well. Even Missy’s insect box and butterflies have meaning in Christian art: resurrection, heaven, life after death. The music speaks for itself. The cast is highly diverse, from African American, to Jewish (Netter says Aviv is the first Jew to ever play the role of Jesus in a Hollywood film), to Asian, to Native American. Anyone who watches the film will find a character with whom to identify. The Shack is an inspiring parable rich in metaphor, human tragedy, and a theology that is accessible and enlightening. In the final analysis it’s not what The Shack teaches us that is most important. It’s what we learn if we are open to seeking and to finding God in the dark. At the movies, we suspend disbelief in order to believe. A Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP, is the founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Los Angeles and an award-winning film reviewer for this publication. She is the author of Martin Sheen: Pilgrim on the Way and a forthcoming biography of Corita Kent, both from Liturgical Press. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

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Six Lenten Pitfalls By focusing too much on Lent, we can lose sight of Easter’s true meaning. B Y PAT R I C I A M . R O B E R T S O N

o your mornings in Lent ever sound like this? “I was thinking I’d make spaghetti for dinner.”

“Oh.” “What’s wrong?” “I can’t put Parmesan cheese on the spaghetti.” “No, you can’t.” No response. “So, does that mean we can’t have spaghetti until Lent is over?” Again, no response. We’ve had this discussion before. It seems that once again we’ve fallen into a Lenten pitfall. Lent is a wonderful time for spiritual

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growth, but this growth can be hindered by common mistakes. We start out with good intentions only to fizzle out by week three or set ourselves up for failure. Below are six common pitfalls I’ve encountered over the years with action plans to address them. By knowing about them in advance, we can avoid them and have a Lent that is spiritually fruitful.

The Cheese Conundrum

We’ve only been married for two and a half years. Each Lent, Jack has given up cheese. This is an extreme sacrifice for him. He loves cheese. No matter what I cook, he wants me to add cheese. What he has yet to comprehend is that giving up cheese is also a hardship for me as the limited meals we can both agree on become even more limited when you take cheese out of the mix. No sticking a frozen pizza in the oven or ordering one when we are too tired to cook. No mac and cheese on meatless Fridays. Hence the cheese conundrum. A good thing for him creates a problem for me. The spiritual writer Gerald May is reputed to have once fallen into the same situation. He decided one year that he would spend more time in prayer. And when was the perfect time to add this hour of prayer? Right after he got home from work. After several days of arriving home and rushing to his den for prayer time, his wife intruded on his space and hit him on the side of the head with the fish she was preparing for dinner. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

Treating Lenten Sacrifices like New Year’s Resolutions

So you finished off the last paczki and feasted on all of your favorite foods and drinks in anticipation of jump-starting your diet on Ash Wednesday and getting back on track with your New Year’s resolution to lose weight. What’s wrong with that? Isn’t God all about second chances? Here’s your opportunity to give your resolutions another chance. The problem is that resolutions tend to be all about you whereas Lent is all about God. It’s not a second chance to get those resolutions right but a second chance to get right with God. Sure, you may forgo sweets with the benFr anciscanMedia.org

He had failed to take into account how his Lenten sacrifice would affect his family. Right after work may have been ideal for him, but it was his wife’s busiest time. He quickly got the message and changed his prayer time to one more suitable for a married man. A common Lenten pitfall is to plan your Lenten sacrifices without taking into account how these will affect your loved ones. God put us into our families for a reason. They truly are a means to grow spiritually. They provide us with concrete expressions of love. As we learn how to love each other amid the struggles of daily life, we learn more about God’s love for us. Action plan: Review your plans for spiritual growth and evaluate whether they are putting an undue hardship on your family. efit of losing weight, but if your reason for giving up sweets or starting an exercise program is to lose weight rather than to grow closer to God, then you are doomed to fail. This past year I gave up sweets, but I didn’t just give up my daily chocolate snack and ice cream desserts. I tried to make breaking my addiction to sweets a spiritual enterprise. As all 12-step groups acknowledge, the way to overcome addiction is not through our own power but through relying on God’s help and intervention. With some trepidation, I took on this plan. When I used to give up sweets for Lent as a kid, for some reason I remembered it as being easier. I think I had more willpower back then.

Resolutions tend to be all about you whereas Lent is all about God.

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Fortunately for us, God is willing to give us another chance.

Now, it felt as though my willpower had all slipped away from years of compromise. But that was OK. Overcoming addictions isn’t a matter of willpower, but of submitting to a higher power. I thought I could do that. Sugar is such an integral part of our American culture that ridding our diet of all sugar is as impossible as getting rid of all sodium. I wasn’t trying to eliminate all sugar, but I did try to break myself of my sugar habit. Even as I tried this, I found myself sneaking in sweet substitutes. I may have given up desserts, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t treat myself to a soft drink or hot chocolate, I told myself—or a glass of wine, another sugary treat. I found myself reaching for these items instead of my pieces of dark chocolate. I didn’t find myself any pounds lighter come Easter, but I learned about the challenge of food addictions. Maybe you have decided to start an exercise program this Lent, but if so, do it because these bodies are temples of God and so worthy of care and respect. Do it because you want to be healthy in order to better serve God and others. Try making it a Lenten discipline as you pump weights and pray for those in need. Action plan: Take your broken New Year’s resolutions and turn them into spiritual resolutions by taking the focus off you and putting it on God.

Getting Discouraged and Giving Up

As I just mentioned, last year I gave up sweets for Lent. During week two of Lent, I attended a luncheon meeting. Sitting in front

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of me in all its delicious splendor was a large chocolate chip cookie, one that was the mass of three regular-sized cookies. I slipped it back into the box lunch, trying to avoid eye contact with the temptress as others around me munched on their cookies. Finally, I slipped my hand into the box and broke off a piece. What would a small bite hurt? I asked myself, and then proceeded to eat half the cookie. I took the remainder home with the intent of giving it to my husband—only to eat it myself later that day. So much for good intentions. The next Monday, as I poured my morning coffee, a shamrock-shaped sugar cookie, replete with green frosting, stared at me from the counter where it had been enticing me since I brought it home from the Irish dinner concert I had attended on Saturday. Certainly it would be the perfect complement to my bitter, dark brew. It wasn’t really a dessert, more like having a breakfast granola bar, I rationalized as I bit into it. It was delicious. Maybe I should just admit that I have no willpower and give up, I thought. Then I picked up the latest Nutrition Action (a health letter put out by the Center for Science in the Public Interest) and read the cover article on food marketing: “What Made You Buy (and Eat) That?” The questions were enlightening: “Does decision-making wear us down as we shop? Does our self-control also get worn down?” The article related studies that showed we have limited amounts of mental and emotional energy available to us. If we use that up on one situation, we have less available for another one and so give up more easily when put to the test. No wonder I had more willpower as a child when it came to giving up sweets for Lent. While childhood wasn’t exactly a blissful ride of sugar and butterflies, it didn’t hold the stress that adult life has. I was definitely worn down. I had no energy left to resist temptation, so when temptation came, I gave right in. Who can prevail when sugar-coated enticements are everywhere? And so I was left where I began, with no option but to call upon God for help. I couldn’t do it on my own. I could give up, admit that I am weak, or I could ask God to help me do better. Fortunately for us, God is willing to give us another chance. His capacity for forgiveness is infinite. Action plan: If you find you aren’t doing well with your Lenten promises, pick yourself up and try again. Discouragement is the devil’s friend. Don’t give in. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

(TV) © VIPERAGP/ FOTOSEARCH; (TRUMPET) © WEBKING/ FOTOSEARCH

Trying to Do Too Much

“Tend to undertake too much, then somehow get it done.” That is a common trait seen in a trendy personality test. “Yes!” I say every time I read this. “That’s me!” I always overextend myself, take on more than is reasonably possible, then get it done. I take pride in this. But then comes the next line, “Friendly but often too absorbed in what they are doing to be sociable.” That’s me, as well. I’m not a social butterfly, flitting from one event to another. I get lost in what I am doing, and if anyone gets in my way, watch out. As with all of our strengths, there is a weakness associated with it. I’m good at getting a job done, but in the process I can be considered unfriendly and antisocial. But I’m neither. I’m just focused! Another aspect of this is that I can get overtired from fulfilling all of my self-imposed expectations, leaving me cranky and with little energy for social interactions. Sometimes this can carry over into our observance of Lent. I may want to spend an extra hour in prayer, attend additional services, or help out at a soup kitchen. I may be “in the zone” as I rush from one activity to another. However, if I neglect other responsibilities or get tired and cranky because I’m overdoing it, I have to ask myself, Who am I doing this for—myself or God? Trying to do too much sets us up for failure. Better to add one thing and do it well. Or better yet, subtract something that maybe isn’t as necessary to our life as we think it is, like watching TV. At the end of the 40 days of Lent is the celebration of Holy Week. After 40 days in the desert, when Jesus was weak from fasting, the

Subtract something that isn’t necessary.

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devil chose to tempt him, hoping to prevail because Jesus was in a weakened state. The liturgies of Holy Week are some of the most powerful and spiritually demanding of the whole year. We relive the final hours of Jesus’ time on this earth. If we come into this week weakened rather than strengthened by our Lenten observances, we may not be able to enter fully into these celebrations. Sometimes, the best thing to do during Lent is to let go of all preconceptions and expectations in order to let Lent be Lent—a time of spiritual growth, led by God, not you. Do I get the Lent that I want, or the one God wants for me? Action plan: Find one activity you can let go of in order to be open to the movement of God’s spirit.

Being a Spiritual Show-Off

You know the type—they come to work tired after volunteering for their church pantry or the numerous committees they serve on, wear their ashes like a gold medal, and are sure to tell you about the many charities they support with their donations. Jesus had choice words about such individuals. “[But] take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (Mt 6:1–4). There’s a wonderful book I read

“When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others.” —Mt 6:2

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We are meant to spend more time rejoicing than we spend repenting!

many years ago about this passage: Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd Douglas. The main character decided to literally follow what Jesus tells us to do in Matthew 6. He went about doing good works but made those he helped promise not to tell anyone. He then used these good works as leverage for more good deeds. Whenever someone tried to pay him back, he would tell them he had already used it up and couldn’t accept recompense. It truly was an obsession to do good. I think about this book every time I hear this passage from Matthew. When confronted with spiritual show-offs, it can be so tempting to respond in kind, ANSWERS TO PETE AND REPEAT telling them all you are doing 1. Sis is wearing socks. for God. But in doing so you 2. The curtain valance is gone. rob yourself of the benefit of 3. There is a baseboard on the wall. what you are doing. 4. The shamrock on Pete’s shirt is lower. Are you doing your good 5. Sis’ arm is now in front of her body. deeds to be seen by others 6. The window has more panes. and receive worldly rewards or 7. Pete is no longer wearing socks. are you doing them for God? 8. Sis is wearing a belt. If for God, then that is reward enough. Action plan: Refrain from 38 ❘

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comparing yourself to others or allowing Lent to become a competition. Do your good deeds in secret.

Failing to Celebrate the Easter Season

There are 40 days of Lent, 50 days in the Easter season. That means we are meant to spend more time rejoicing than we spend repenting! We spend time focusing on Lent, making sacrifices, striving to grow in our faith, then Easter comes and we are done. If only we spent as much time celebrating Easter as we spend preparing for Easter. When Lent is over, do you continue the spiritual growth you achieved? Or do you just go back to life as usual? Action plan: This year, plan Easter celebrations to take place throughout the Easter season. Put as much effort into this as you put into Lent! A Patricia M. Robertson is a writer and spiritual director who lives in Jackson, Michigan. She is the author of Daily Meditations for Busy Moms (ACTA Publications), seven novels, and numerous articles. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

A Lenten Prayer

oly One who journeys with me on the road of life with its hills and valleys,

May I recognize the daily cross that is mine and carry this burden in a trustful way, confident that the undesired parts of my life can be guides to my spiritual growth. Teach me how to be with my personality traits that I consider unworthy or unacceptable.

PAINTING BY SEBASTIANO DEL PIOMBO/ PRADO MUSEUM/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Inspire me to release my tight grip when I wrestle with the resistant part of myself that insists on having everything in life turn out the way I desire and demand. Increase my awareness of the false judgments and unfair expectations that quickly arise to crowd out kindness and compassion for myself and others. Lessen unrestrained fears and wearisome worries that keep me imprisoned in turmoil and confusion and, thus, lessen my spiritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strength and courage. Soften any hardness of heart I have toward another. Increase my ability to be understanding. Help me topple the walls that prevent my being a forgiving person. Expand my perception of the good things my life already holds. Decrease apprehension about not having enough, being enough, doing enough, or growing enough. Awaken the undying song of hope in my soul as I carry my unwanted cross each day, so that even in the worst of times I continue to trust you to provide for what is needed. Confident of your grace and daily empowerment, I give myself to you as fully as I am able at this time. As I carry the burden that is mine, remind me often that you are always with me and never against me. I rest my desire for union with you into your loving care. Amen.

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y aunt sent a powerful photo of her son-in-law taking his first sip of water several weeks after esophageal cancer surgery. I felt drawn to the

photo, sensing the intense vulnerability and suffering it depicted. As I regarded his situation, an awareness arose of countless others in the world who were also taking their first sip of water after an extensive and painful operation. I thought, This is their cross. Then I recalled Jesus being forced to carry his cross as he trudged to Calvary. Each of us also has a burden to carry, sometimes huge, sometimes small. No matter the size, any affliction offers an opportunity for us to grow in a way we had not anticipated, depending on how we relate to it. As we enter Lent, I offer this prayer about carrying crosses. Joyce Rupp, OSM, is a best-selling author who lives in West Des Moines, Iowa.

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

Praying with Icons q We’re used to communicating to God through words, but images have a special power. BY JEANNETTE DE BEAUVOIR

JOJOJOE/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

OR MANY OF US who were raised Catholic, icons—religious portraits of people and scenes from Scripture painted on specially prepared wood using prescribed materials and techniques—seem primitive and dark, sad and austere, and we gravitate instead toward brighter, more familiar images. Because we don’t understand them, we dismiss icons as something belonging to another tradition, something that somebody else believes in, something that has nothing to do with us. Yet their tradition is rich, steeped in centuries of a complex and profound spirituality, and to dismiss it is to close the door on one of the most ancient and enduring ways of experiencing God: using icons in prayer. The word icon means “image,” and images are powerful. It’s not accidental that the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” came into being. But to use an icon in your prayer life isn’t simply to use a picture as a focus; that would be called art appreciation. To use icons in your prayer life is to open yourself to various access points to God, using not only your mind but all your senses, recognizing that the icon can be as valid a medium of revelation as the printed word—and often a more powerful one. There’s another dimension to praying with icons. It is, in a sense, to call forth and be a part of the centuries of tradition to which they belong, to become part of that shining stream of intuitive spirituality that speaks directly to the heart, to be the connection between the community of the past and the community of the future.

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To pray with an icon is to place yourself inside a legacy of spirituality, to answer the question, “Where do I come from?” To pray with an icon is to summon up a whole tradition of prayer and fasting, of meditation and liturgy and life that transcends anything that any one person can experience alone. It’s to claim the legacy of martyrs, scholars, monastics, bishops, and saints: it is to claim the lives of our people.

Choosing an Icon So you have made the decision to use icons in your own prayer life. You first need to find an icon that holds some meaning for you, some beauty for you, some point of contact. How do you choose an icon? Where do you begin? With whom? Actually, the point is less whom the icon is depicting than how the icon affects you. You are an integral part of the experience; using a certain icon because it’s famous, or because someone else likes it, is to deny your contribution to the event, your unique presence in it. You are not, after all, going to be praying to the icon itself; you will be praying through it—to God. In that sense, it’s just a tool. So don’t feel that the icon has to depict a certain person or scene from Scripture in order to “work.” It isn’t the icon that will do the work, but you. Some people know at once which icon to use; there’s a moment of recognition, a sensation deep in the heart. But for most of us who were raised in a Western spiritual tradition, it takes time for the icon to penetrate the layers of intellectual and social conditioning March 2017 ❘

CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING

Pope Francis’ deep reverence for an icon of Mary and the child Jesus is a striking reminder of the power of this form of prayer.

and speak to the heart; so often it’s necessary to sit with an icon for a time and see what happens. If you don’t already have a favorite icon, you might try several that you can find in books, calendars, and holy cards. Spend time with each of these icons and see which ones you find yourself returning to. They may not be the most beautiful ones, but they will hold some meaning for you. Feel free to experiment.

that God is accessible primarily through the mind. But we’re recapturing a more Eastern Orthodox way of accessing God, as well, through a wide range of media: through our ears as we listen to beautiful music, through our eyes as we contemplate religious art, through our sense of smell as we breathe in the rich odor of incense. God is accessible through all our senses, and touching God through art or music is just as valid as touching God through Scripture. We don’t need to understand in order to love. This dichotomy is most evident in our prayer life. Catholics perceive prayer as being primarily something that one does. One comes to prayer times, frequently, with an agenda: I’m going to pray for this; I’m going to pray about that. And then we proceed to talk to God. Conversation finished (at least on our part), we get up, dust off our knees, and go about our business. For an Eastern Christian, prayer is not something that we do, but rather something that we receive. Prayer involves waiting rather than doing, listening rather than talking. What you are doing is not divorced from the rest of your faith life, but rather, it is your faith life, the center of your spirituality. The icon is the prayer.

Praying with Mary, the Theotokos

The Challenge to Do Nothing Let’s say you’ve selected an icon. Now what do you do? Nothing. That is the real, the primary, truest, and most difficult answer to that question: you do nothing. To pray with an icon is to understand that prayer has less to do with our intellect than it has to do with our heart, less to do with talking than with listening, less to do with doing than with being. And in a rushed and technological world where speed and production are qualities to be prized, this is a difficult concept to accept. It’s not our fault, not really. Catholics have inherited, for better or for worse, the rationalism that characterized the Reformation and Counter-Reformation movements: the sense 42 ❘

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We’re going to look at praying with the Theotokos, the Eastern Orthodox way of conceptualizing Mary, which means “God-bearer.” You can, of course, adapt this introduction and guiding questions to any icon you choose. Look at the color first. How does the deep red strike you? Is it peaceful? Does it touch your senses? What about the gold surrounding the figures? What feelings does the gold bring into your awareness? Look at how the Theotokos holds the Christ Child. See how gentle her touch is, yet how firm her grasp. Can you feel those arms around you, holding you, encircling you with love? Look at her eyes: What can you read there? What is she saying to you? What is she asking of you? What questions come into your heart as you look at her eyes? See the Christ Child. He is not simply a St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

Jeannette de Beauvoir is a copywriter and editor who resides in Boston. She lived in France until she was 21 and later completed a master’s in divinity at Yale University. Fr anciscanMedia.org

Steps to Begin Praying with an Icon

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Start by making yourself comfortable. Kneeling may be your first inclination, but it would be better, especially at first, to be seated in a comfortable position with the icon situated just below eye level, so you don’t have to strain to look at it.

Light candles or incense, if you like; but mostly focus your attention on the icon. Explore it with your eyes and feelings. Pause and consider the feelings that it brings up in you.

Silence is an integral feature of Orthodox spirituality. You will see very quickly: there is no icon that encourages a torrent of words, a rushed prayer or two. Icons slow us down by their very serenity; they require, first and before all else, our silence. If there can be no silence, then there can be no prayer because prayer is formed by silence, fashioned by it, led into and through it. It’s not our silence that we are experiencing—it is the silence of God.

Sit with the icon as long as you can, really looking at it, really seeing it. If you find that you need words, the simplicity of the Jesus Prayer is appropriate: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” If you use this prayer, repeat it several times, slowly, rhythmically, and then come back to sitting in silence. There are voices all around you; you have only to still yourself to hear them.

Practice is essential: you won’t be completely comfortable the first, or the second, or perhaps even the 10th time that you sit with your icon. You have to begin to unlearn what you have been taught all your life—that factual truth is important. Spiritual truth is far more important here; and spiritual realities touch you in unfamiliar ways. Let them do so. Let new feelings grow inside you. Let the icon speak.

Wear clothes that are loose fitting and appropriate to the temperature—anything that is bothersome (tightness, too much cold or heat) will keep part of your consciousness focused away from what you are doing.

CNS PHOTO/PATRICIA L. GUILFOYLE, CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

baby, but a king. Can you feel the tenderness between this mother and child? What feelings does that tenderness bring forth in you? See the eyes of the child. What is he saying to you today? Move your gaze around the icon; see everything that there is to see. Close your eyes and breathe for a few moments. What images are imprinted on your eyes? Open your eyes again and look at the icon. Where are you drawn now? Why? What is it in this icon that is touching you? Move now beyond your own feelings. Is there joy in this image? Do you see sorrow? Pain? What feelings are reaching deep into your heart as you gaze at the figures pictured? Notice, again, the Christ Child in this icon. He is larger than life, not the sleeping baby of Western manger scenes. You will see that he wears gold, the color of royalty: this is Christ crowned king, already. He is already alive, already dying, already risen; it is there in his eyes, and the love that enabled that life. Yet he looks at us with great vulnerability. (Those icons of the Theotokos that show the Christ Child’s full body also show one of his feet turned so that we can see its sole, emphasizing that same vulnerability—and that same accessibility to us.) The cheek of the Christ Child is pressed up against his mother’s cheek; you can see a great tenderness, a great closeness there. What does that say to you now? How does it feel? Can you, too, find in this icon an access point to some of that same tenderness? When you need comfort, summon this image to your mind. It is there for you. Just as the Theotokos comforts the Christ Child, so, too, do her eyes invite you in to receive that same comfort, that same tenderness, that same love. When my own mother died, I realized just how much it had meant to have her only a telephone call away; when I was hurt or afraid, I would call just to hear her voice. Somehow, that made everything seem more controllable. We have that same offer here: she will not solve our problems for us, but she will help us put them in perspective—she will show us that they are controllable. If you are hurt or afraid or tired, the icon of the Theotokos is there for you. Her ear is attentive. Her eyes understand. And her hand touches Christ. A

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Training Wheels Hero or zero—the choice was his. FICTION BY J.H. OSOLINSKY

ILLUSTRATION BY VINCENT ZAWADA

’D BEEN DELAYED by a client who figured the tax deadline didn’t apply to him, so it was closer to one o’clock than noon by the time I got to my favorite bench with my bologna and cheese sandwich. I love this park, especially when it’s quiet, just the ducks and the occasional pair of Canada geese to comment on the day. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not unsociable. It’s just that Debbie was the talker. I’m more into listening. I guess it’s one of the qualities that makes me a good CPA. As I approached the bench by the pond, I spied a couple of guys near the swings. One looked like a street kid in baggy pants and a gray hoodie. The older man, wearing blue denim coveralls, pulled something out of the flattopped toolbox he carried and handed it to the kid. Oh, great, I thought. A drug deal. And this used to be such a nice park. But when I looked closer, I saw it wasn’t a drug deal. He was giving the kid a loaf of bread and a bag of apples. When he touched the kid’s shoulder, the kid half raised a hand—whether to ward off the other guy or to return the gesture, I couldn’t tell. Anyway, none of my business, I thought, returning to the ducks’ noisy discussion and my bologna sandwich. I was getting ready to toss the crusts to the birds when a large shadow blocked the sun. “Mind if I join you?” I looked up to see Mr. Blue Denim. He was in his late 60s, I guessed, and wore a Mets baseball cap. “Help yourself,” I said. I was leaving soon, anyway.

He smiled like he knew me. “Haven’t I seen you at St. Alphonse? Ten o’clock Mass?” “Could be. I’m usually there,” I admitted. He stuck out his hand. “Stanley. Stanley Oreschuck. And you’re . . . John, isn’t it?” “John O’Connor. Pleased to meet you.” As we shook hands he said, “My late wife used to mention a Debbie O’Connor—from the Catholic Women’s League. Any relation?” He sat down and set his toolbox beside him on the bench. Then he took a deck of well-used playing cards from his breast pocket and began to shuffle. “My wife. My . . . late wife.” Two and a half years and it still sounded wrong. “Sorry to hear that,” Stanley said. He dealt himself a half-dozen cards, looked at them a moment, then moved two onto a separate pile. “Fifteen-two, fifteen-four, and three for the seveneight-nine,” he muttered under his breath, then to me he asked, “Your kids still in town?” I wondered how he knew we had children, but then I realized that if his wife knew Debbie, she knew we had a family. Like I said, Debbie was the talker. “Christine’s in Baltimore,” I said. “She’s a lawyer. And Mark and his wife teach music at an international school in Abu Dhabi.” “I just have Frankie,” Stanley said. “That was him over there.” He indicated the tire swings. “He’s a good kid, really. Just kind of lost his way right now. He M a rch 2 0 1 7 ❘ 4 5

still comes to meet me, though, so that’s something. I bring him sandwiches and fruit on Mondays.” Whew! A street kid for a son. What do you say to that? Debbie would have known what to say, but I couldn’t think of anything appropriate, so I just nodded and changed the subject. “What is that?” I asked. “It looks like solitaire but it sounds like cribbage.” “Right on both counts,” Stanley said. “It’s cribbage solitaire. You know crib?” “I used to play with my father-inlaw.” I was suddenly flooded with memories of Debbie’s dad, the late afternoon sun bathing the front porch, and Debbie smiling as she poured us each yet another glass of lemonade. I blinked away the images. “Haven’t played in a while.” “Say, why don’t you come out to St. Alphonse’s Thursday night? We play cribbage every second Thursday, seven o’clock.” “Oh, I don’t know. I’m pretty rusty.” “It’s like riding a bike. You’ll pick it up again in no time.” He pulled a business card out of his breast pocket and handed it to me. I took the card and gave him mine to be polite. Stanley O., it read. For all your Home Maintenance needs. “I’ll . . . uh, I’ll think about it.” I folded up my lunch bag and stood. “I have to get back to work.” “Oh, sure,” Stanley said as he dealt himself another hand. “Nice meeting you. Maybe we’ll see you Thursday.” I smiled, nodded, and put the card in my pocket—with no intention of ever looking at it again.

uesday and Wednesday went by. I didn’t give Stanley a second thought. I went to work during the day, watched baseball at night, and lived my orderly, peaceful life. Thursday morning, Stanley phoned me at work. “It’s Stanley. Stanley Oreschuck. We met in the park the other day.” “Oh, yeah,” I said after a moment. “I remember.” “Did you think any more about coming out for cribbage tonight?” Of course, I hadn’t. “Uh . . . that’s tonight? I kind of had plans.” I didn’t 4 6 ❘ Ma rch 201 7

tell him they were the same plans I had every night. “Reason I’m calling,” Stanley explained, “one of our regulars is out of town. His daughter’s wedding. Looks like we’re going to be short one. I wondered if you could help us out.” Trapped. If it were just a game to pass the time, I’d have stuck to my excuse. But the “if you could help us out” part . . . I looked over to Debbie’s photo on my desk, to those crinkly brown eyes, that lively, mischievous grin. I could almost hear her say it: “Hero or zero, sweet cheeks. Your choice.” Some choice. So I said, “Sure. Looking forward to it.” Liar. Never mind. It’s one night. Just get it over with. “Ah, John, that’s great,” Stanley enthused. “See you tonight. Wait. Did I mention it’s BYOS?” What? My mind went blank. “Bring your own . . . ?” “Snack. We provide the coffee, and there’s a soda machine.” “Ah.” “Nothing fancy, though. Oh, and bring two bucks.” “You betcha,” I replied with all the warmth of a fresh trout. See what you got me into? I scolded Debbie’s photo. You want me to play cribbage; well, you should be there with me. She just kept smiling. The thing of it is, she made me promise. On her deathbed. Promise I’d make a life for myself when she was gone. “You’re not even 60 years old, Johnny. You’ve got a lot of living to do. Promise me you won’t waste it.” Of course, I promised, but I doubted she would have approved of the life I’d made. Work 12 hours a day. Sleep at the end of it if I was exhausted enough. Take calls from the kids on Sunday night. The truth is, life without Debbie hardly seemed worth the effort. But a promise is a promise. I stopped at Walmart after work and bought a cheese and sausage tray. That’s what Debbie’s father always liked. Back home I changed into my best jeans and hooked on my vintage train belt buckle, the one Debbie had bought me in Colorado during our last

family vacation. It felt a little like bringing her with me. Almost. Stanley sat at the welcoming table handing out name tags and score sheets. He seemed genuinely glad to see me, and, as I paid my two dollars, I felt a moment of shame at my reluctance to be there. Stanley led me to my assigned table and introduced me around. I didn’t recognize a single face, and the names were all a blur, but I didn’t worry overmuch. I didn’t expect to see any of them again. We played one round at each table until every pair had played with every other pair, and between hands we congregated around the snack table. Turned out most of the players went to St. Alphonse’s, one Mass or another. A lot of the women remembered Debbie from the Catholic Women’s League. They smiled when they spoke of her. I liked that. “You brought kielbasa!” Stanley exclaimed as he helped himself to the sausage and cheese. “Excellent!” He pointed to my belt. “Nice buckle. You into miniature trains, too?” “No. I just collect buckles.” “I’d like to see them sometime.” “Sure, any time,” I replied. I know what “sometime” means. But Stanley really meant it. “Sunday after Mass?” he asked. “I’ll bring brunch.” Great. So much for the Sunday afternoon baseball game. I could almost hear Debbie chortle. Hero or zero. “Sounds great,” I lied. He brought Bacon & Eggers. I showed him some of my favorite buckles: “Starry Night,” “Mom and Dad with Heart,” my “Red River D” replica. Stanley, as he did with everything, showed keen interest.

he next Sunday I felt I had to go see his miniature train collection. I brought Sausage & Eggers. A couple other train enthusiasts also brought takeout. I know nothing about trains, but I learned a lot. To my surprise, the afternoon passed quickly. Stanley showed me photos of his late wife and Frankie. He had one of those frames with the kid’s school pictures through the years. Frankie started St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

school with eyes wide open, his face eager. By senior year, he had lost the smile and didn’t seem to be looking forward to anything. There was no graduation photo. “He was a fun kid, you know?” Stanley said wistfully. “Always curious, always interested in trying something new. He couldn’t wait to get the training wheels off his two-wheeler. Fell off, of course, more than once, but kept picking himself up and getting back on. Wasn’t long before he was ‘Look, Dad, no hands!’” I smiled and nodded, remembering. Our Christine was the same way. “He was 14 when he got into street life. We did all we could, but the street keeps drawing him back. There’s no training wheels for life, I guess. You just keep hoping they’ll pick themselves up and get back on the straight and narrow.” Later, as I was leaving, Stanley asked how I’d enjoyed myself at cribbage the previous week. In truth, what I was starting to enjoy was Stanley’s company. So when he invited me back for next Thursday’s cribbage, I heard myself say, “I’d like that.” “Happy now?” I asked Debbie’s photo when I got home. “I’m out there, socializing, making a life for myself, just as promised.” Her eyes crinkled when she smiled, and I knew she was pleased. On the First Sunday of Advent, Stanley asked me to join the choir. I told him I had a strictly “singingin-the-shower” voice. “God doesn’t choose the perfect, John,” Stanley said. “He chooses the willing. Are you willing?” Hero or zero. So the following Wednesday, I was at choir practice, seven o’clock.

he week before Christmas there was the Food Hamper Bee, followed by deliveries, then taking down the Christmas decorations and getting ready for the First Sunday of Ordinary Time. By spring, my life was anything but ordinary, and Stanley was my entry into this society of friends. While we sang “River of Glory” at Fr ancisca n Media .org

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the Easter Vigil, I thanked God for this new life I’d been given like candy on a plate. A life without Debbie, yes, but one with a measure of contentment and even, now and again, joy. A mini or not-so-mini miracle. Then suddenly, the week after Easter, Stanley died. I could hardly take it in. Grief and anger overwhelmed me. I knew this lesson. I’d learned it when my brother was killed by a drunk driver when I was 23. Learned it again when my parents died two years later, and again when Debbie’s dad died. Then Debbie. Now Stanley. I should have known better. Loving someone is an open invitation to get gutted. I stayed home from work for three days, but eventually I forced myself back; it was tax season. I worked till I couldn’t think anymore, watched television till I couldn’t feel anymore. I couldn’t talk to Debbie’s photo. It just reminded me that nothing lasts—not people, not love. Sooner or later, everything dies.

I didn’t go for coffee on Saturday. Didn’t go to Mass on Sunday, choir practice on Wednesday, or cribbage on Thursday. I put away the cribbage cards. I was back in the drab and colorless sepia photograph that had been my life After Debbie and Before Stanley.

ne day a noon-hour client meant a late lunch again in the deserted park. It was another Monday, a cloudless, sunny day similar to when I’d first met Stanley. As I headed to my bench, I glanced over to the playground and the swings, almost expecting to see Stanley there, handing Frankie sandwiches and a bag of apples. Of course, he wasn’t. Frankie was, though, sitting on a swing, head down, feet desultorily kicking at the dirt. I knew he was thinking of Stanley, just as I was, and probably feeling just as deserted as this park. Deserted, that is, except for me. Hero or zero sprang to my mind.

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What? Frankie was huddled into his hoodie, hands in his pocket, slowly rocking himself back and forth. Hero or zero, sweet cheeks. Your choice. I turned away from the swings. No way. Frankie needed more than I could give him. He needed Stanley. God doesn’t choose the perfect, John. He chooses the willing. Are you willing? I wasn’t. I was full enough of my own pain. I didn’t need a fatherless, motherless kid adding to it. Frankie got up from the swing and started walking away. I watched his retreating back. My reluctance to get involved was like a stone in my belly. I let out a small moan. “Frankie . . .” Then I shouted, “Frankie!” He stopped and slowly turned around, wary as a wild thing. I headed across the park. “Sorry about your dad,” I said when I caught up to him. He nodded, head down, then started away again. I went after him. “Wait,” I said. He stopped, turned around. I offered him my lunch bag. “Here. It’s not much, but it’s all I have.” He eyed it a moment, hesitated, then stepped away. “I don’t need your charity.” “Ah, son, we all need charity. Your dad taught me that.” I proffered the lunch bag again. “Go on. Take it. In memory of your dad.” After a long moment of indecision, Frankie slowly reached out and took it. He nodded once, then quickly walked away. It was my turn to hesitate. Finally I squared my shoulders and called after him. “See you next Monday!” Frankie’s step stuttered, but he quickly recovered and kept walking. I headed back to my office, hungry yet strangely satisfied. I didn’t know if he’d be there Monday, but I knew I would. I wonder if Frankie likes kielbasa? A

J.H. Osolinsky is a semiretired author from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, with over 30 years of experience in writing short stories and screenplays. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

❘ OUR SORROWFUL MOTHER SANCTUARY

INSAPPHOWETRUST/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

CATHOLIC SITES TO EXPLORE

The Grotto

ost of the shrines mentioned in my book have well-tended, perhaps even landscaped grounds, but the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother is a standout that combines the sanctity of churches, chapels, little shrines, and statuary with the glories of a renowned botanical garden. And because the sanctuary is set in the Pacific Northwest, where the climate tends to be mild, something is blooming every month of the year. To make a pilgrimage to this sanctuary is to immerse yourself in the beauty of God’s creation. The heart of the shrine is the grotto, carved into a cliff face of dramatic basalt rock. Above the altar is a to-scale, white marble replica of Michelangelo’s Pietà. The interior of the stone-built Chapel of Mary is enriched with statues, mosaics, stained glass, and wonderful paintings, including a painting of the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin over the altar. Amid the gardens are shrines of favorite saints of various ethnic groups. St. Anne’s Chapel, which has the look of a classic, red, one-room schoolhouse, was built as a chapel of the Blessed Sacrament during the first

Fr ancisca n Media .org

International Marian Congress, which was held here in 1934. There is also a replica of the labyrinth found on the floor of the Chartres Cathedral in France. The sanctuary is staffed by the Servite Fathers, who offer Mass daily, welcome pilgrims, and, with the generous assistance of volunteers, organize special events, such as the Grotto Concert Series and the Festival of Lights at Christmastime. Laymen and laywomen are welcome to join group retreats held throughout the year, and clergy, religious, and seminarians are welcome to make private retreats at the sanctuary. A Adapted from 101 Places to Pray Before You Die by Thomas J. Craughwell (Franciscan Media). Next: Gettysburg

• Portland O REG O N

National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother 8840 NE Skidmore Street Portland, OR 97220 503-254-7371 www.thegrotto.org

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ASK A FRANCISCAN

❘ BY FATHER PAT McCLOSKEY, OFM

Burying Cremains in My Garden? I have been a practicing Catholic all my life. If our local priest would bless my very large garden, could I have my cremains buried there?

CNS PHOTO/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ

On August 15, 2016, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published “Instruction Ad resurgendum cum Christo [rising with Christ] regarding the burial of the deceased and the conservation of the ashes in the case of cremation.” The first paragraph of section five reads: “When, for legitimate motives, cremation of the body has been chosen, the ashes of the faithful must be laid to rest in a sacred place, that is, in a cemetery or, in certain cases, in a church or an area, which has been set aside for this purpose, and so dedicated by competent ecclesial authority.” That section’s third paragraph reads: “The reservation of the ashes of the departed in a sacred place ensures that they are not excluded from the prayers and remembrance of their family or the Christian community.

It prevents the faithful departed from being forgotten, or their remains from being shown a lack of respect, which eventuality is possible, most especially once the immediately subsequent generation has, too, passed away. Also, it prevents any unfitting or superstitious practices.” Section six says that the local bishop may, in agreement with the episcopal conference or the synod of bishops for Eastern Catholic Churches, allow the conservation of cremains in a private residence. A canonist whom I consulted said that this would apply to property around a residence. As a practical matter, what happens if this property passes out of the hands of your family? Will the new owners consent to visits from family members on, for example, Memorial Day or All Souls’ Day? Even if the property remains in your family’s hands, future estrangements within the family might prevent relatives from visiting your grave.

Can She Be Saved? I was born in 1929 and have been a Catholic all my life; my mother and father were devout Catholics. I have been happily married to an agnostic woman for 60 years. We have had numerous discussions, but she simply cannot believe in a God and creator. As death inevitably approaches, I am increasingly concerned about her future. Yes, she can be saved. This quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church may apply to her: “‘Since Christ died for all, and since all [people] are, in fact, called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery.’ Every [one] who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his [or her] understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known of its necessity” (1260). You may never know the key to your wife’s decision to remain an agnostic. Although that may be frustrating for you, it is not a major problem for God. Your 60 years of happy marriage will probably be a very significant influence in her salvation.

Selling Real Estate on Sundays In 2014, 47 percent of burials in all US cemeteries were for cremains. One Catholic cemetery in the Midwest estimates that 30 percent of its 2016 burials were for cremains. 5 0 ❘ Ma rch 201 7

I am trying to sell a house, an investment property. Is it OK for the real estate agent to conduct an open house on a Sunday or holy day? Or is St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

it seriously wrong morally? If so, am I also responsible if she does it? What if she calls me on Sunday about a possible sale? If she asks me to sign a contract on a Sunday? It is OK to have an open house on a Sunday because that is the most reasonable time for people to look at several housing options. Likewise, you can respond to a real estate agent’s calls on a Sunday. No contract to sell a house is so urgent that it cannot be delayed a day, but it is not morally wrong to sign such a contract on a Sunday. In all of this, I am assuming that you are already honoring the Lord’s Day through joining in the Eucharist and refraining from all work that can reasonably be postponed.

Eucharist Not Mentioned in Creed Why is the Eucharist not mentioned in the Nicene Creed? We believe that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. Isn’t this what makes us Roman Catholics and not members of some other Christian group? In fact, Baptism is the only sacrament explicitly mentioned in the Nicene Creed. Because Baptism was usually celebrated in the context of the Eucharist, we can say that sacrament was also presumed. At the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, the Church had not yet identified the seven sacraments as we list them. The “forgiveness of sins,” for example, was not yet the Sacrament of Reconciliation as we know it today. Before the year 1500, some theologians considered the anointing of a king a sacrament; some people taught that the Sacrament of Holy Orders was, in fact, three distinct sacraments (diaconate, priesthood, episcopacy). Other actions beyond the seven we now recognize were once regarded as sacraments by some theologians. Any creed arises to address a particular issue being challenged at that Fr ancisca n Media .org

time; for this reason the bishops at Nicaea tweaked an existing creed in order to reaffirm the divinity of Jesus. Creeds are important, but no creed could possibly contain everything that makes up Catholic identity.

Three Questions about the Eucharist Why is fasting expected before people receive Communion? Why did the Catholic Church stop the tradition of breaking actual loaves of bread and replace it with the hosts that are given out today? Why can’t we receive Communion more than once a day?

ing the Passover meal (Ex 12:1–20), the meal that Jesus celebrated with his apostles at the Last Supper (Mt 26:17; Mk 14:12; Lk 22:15). The Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches use leavened bread for the Eucharist. Holy Communion is not a commodity to be consumed as though “more is better.” Receiving it shows a deep relationship with God. Sometimes more than once a day is required—for example, when I celebrate two Masses on a Sunday morning. Someone who receives Communion during a Saturday morning funeral is welcome to receive it at an anticipated Sunday Mass on Saturday evening. A

Fasting for one hour before receiving Communion shows respect for what is certainly not ordinary food. This rule does not apply to someone who is taking prescribed medication. In fact, the Catholic Church’s practice about using unleavened bread simply reflects the Jewish tradition’s use of unleavened bread dur-

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.

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M a rch 2 0 1 7 ❘ 5 1

BOOK CORNER

Catholic

Best Sellers

at Barnes and Noble Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis Mark K. Shriver The Vatican Pimpernel: The World War II Exploits of the Monsignor Who Saved Over 6,500 Lives Brian Fleming Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon Donald H. Calloway, MIC A Call to Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve Mother Teresa Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling Ross King

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❘ BY CAROL ANN MORROW

Transformed by God’s Word Discovering the Power of Lectio and Visio Divina By Stephen J. Binz Ave Maria Press 224 pages • $16.95 Paperback Reviewed by JUDITH DUNLAP, a retired catechetical consultant for Franciscan Media. She worked in Church ministry for more than 30 years and is the author of several books on family faithformation. Three long-established practices of Lent are fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. We know fasting can incorporate anything from abstaining from food to fasting from gossip or television. Almsgiving has always included giving ourselves in service as well as giving from our treasury. Prayer has three traditional expressions: vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplation. Stephen Binz’s latest book offers us an opportunity this Lent not only to pray in all three prayer expressions but also to reflect on practical ways we can fast and give alms and service. He does this by offering 20 readings from Scripture with which to pray, using the traditional practice of lectio divina and the more innovative process of visio divina that Binz introduces. (There was a display of some beautiful icons from this book in our December issue.) The practice of lectio divina (divine reading) has been around since the sixth century. There are four traditional steps in this

ancient prayer form: lectio (read the Scripture passage), meditatio (meditate, think about the passage), oratio (pray, talk to God), and contemplatio (contemplate, sit in silence with God). Each of the Scripture passages in the book is accompanied by a picture of an icon that Binz suggests the reader gaze upon (visio divina) following the Scripture reading (lectio). He reminds us that Eastern Orthodox Christians have been reflecting and praying with icons for as long as Roman Christians have been praying with lectio divina. Following the divine reading/seeing, the prayer continues with the three remaining steps; meditating, praying, and contemplating. Binz, however, adds a fifth step, called operatio, that asks the question, “How can I put God’s word into action?” It allows the one praying to consider how he might give of himself in service or how she might fast from a particular item or behavior. The book offers a short commentary on each of the readings as well as an explanation of the accompanying icon. There are also short prompts for each of the steps: several questions on which to reflect, a brief prayer, a focal point on the icon on which to center before contemplation, and, finally, suggested ways of living out the word. The prompts as well as the commentaries may be of help to those new to lectio divina, while those more familiar with the prayer form may just add the visio dimension without the additional information. The book, with its various helps, might also offer an interesting exercise for small groups. I would suggest that before beginning the prayer, the group reads together the commentary and description of the icon. The prayer can then begin with someone reading the Scripture passage while the rest of the group focuses on the icon. Repeat this step with a different reader. Discuss some of the questions suggested for meditation, and then read the Scripture passage and reflect on the icon a third time. Allow for a short time sitting quietly with God. Finally, ask individuals to respond to the passage by offering prayers or suggesting ways the reading might be lived out. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

BOOK BRIEFS

Saints of All Stripes The Spirit within Saint Junípero Photographs by Craig Alan Huber Essays by Robert M. Senkewicz Veritas Editions 128 pages • $75 Oversized hardcover with dust jacket

Light When It Comes Trusting Joy, Facing Darkness & Seeing God in Everything By Chris Anderson Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 192 pages • $16.99 Paperback Reviewed by LINUS MUNDY, founder of the Abbey Press CareNotes program, and recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Catholic Publishers. His books include Simply Merton and “Comfort My People”— A Pastoral Care Prayerbook. He is presently writing a book on spiritual fatigue. Brian Doyle offers a lyrical and potent introduction to this work—to match the depth and spiritual vitality of the book and its author, Chris Anderson. It is a book of personal musings—many of them divine. The book’s tone is reminiscent of writer Annie Dillard, with the same rich layers of the sacred. No small accomplishment! The main message might be condensed as follows: our spiritual life does not demand a painful search for the mystical as much as it demands a simple openness to the mystical. In effect, it is a book that inspires us as it builds up our joy in being a graced people. A telling quote: “More and more, I think, life is about letting things go . . . giving things up. It’s about holding things in memory and believing in them still.” Anderson sees our life experiences as central to spiritual growth and zest. The book is laced with quotes from and allusions to such masters of the inner life as Flannery O’Connor, Anthony de Mello, Teilhard de Chardin, Ruth Burrows, and Wendell Berry. And yet it is the voice of the author that speaks with most poignancy. This is a book for Lent, or anytime, as you will find your head nodding in sheer appreciation. Fr ancisca n Media .org

This book is a gorgeous photographic tribute to St. Junípero Serra and the California missions. The three short essays by historian Robert Senkewicz provide enough context for those new to the topic and enough depth for the well-versed to enjoy.

Girlfriends and Other Saints Companions on My Journey of Faith Teresa Tomeo Word Among Us 136 pages • $12.95 Paperback Light on the theology (and even the hagiography), this is a breezy, easy read, suitable for fans of Tomeo or those just exploring an interest in the saints.

Christian Mystics 108 Seers, Saints, and Sages Carl McColman Hampton Roads Publishing 288 pages • $19.95 Paperback With entries on the usual suspects—mystics in the vein of John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, and Simone Weil—McColman adds some newer names, including several writers still living. The entries are brief and conversational, and each includes a welcome recommendation of a book by or about the mystic.—K.C. Books featured in Book Corner and Book Briefs can be ordered from

St. Mary’s Bookstore & Church Supply 1909 West End Avenue • Nashville, TN 37203 • 800-233-3604 www.stmarysbookstore.com • stmarysbookstore@gmail.com Prices shown in Book Corner do not include shipping. M a rch 2 0 1 7 ❘ 5 3

A CATHOLIC MOM SPEAKS

❘ BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER

The Blessings of Breastfeeding

ILLUSTRATION BY MARY KURNICK MAASS

hree years ago, I had the privilege to travel to Italy and walk in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi. At each place we stopped, I sought out a connection with St. Francis, some clue into how these places drew him closer to Jesus. When we stepped into the grotto at Greccio, where St. Francis celebrated the birth of Christ, I made yet another connection—just not the one I had expected. As I looked at the fresco behind the altar, I was immediately drawn to an image of Mary breastfeeding Jesus. Despite the fresco’s aged appearance and chipping paint, it was one of the most beautiful works of art I had seen. In fact, it brought me to tears. In that moment, it wasn’t about St. Francis anymore. It was about two mothers, joined by the physical act of nurturing a child.

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Forming a Special Bond The topic of breastfeeding is one that always seems to bring out strong feelings on both sides. Opinions run the gamut of the practice being the most natural thing ever to its being an offensive display of sexuality. At times, the discourse can get rather heated. So heated, in fact, that I thought long and hard about writing this column—even though my youngest child is almost 7 years old now. I, personally, have always felt that the time I spent breastfeeding my four children was sacred time. I loved the idea that after carrying each of my kids for nine months, I was able to still provide them with nourishment from my body. I also felt blessed for the alone time that breastfeeding provided me with my kids. St . A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r

Unfortunately, my feelings about the beauty of this act are not always shared by others. There are so many times I would find myself nursing one of my children in a bathroom or some other out-of-the-way, concealed place out of fear that I just might make someone else feel uncomfortable. Even when I would have my child well under wraps as he or she was fed, I remember the glares. Still, those tender moments are very much printed on my heart and are a vital part of my motherhood story. I consider the time I spent feeding my babies to have been holy time. The image in Greccio reaffirmed that feeling.

THE MILK GROTTO

A Strong Advocate Pope Francis’ comments support a long-standing Church connection with breastfeeding. The idea of Mary breastfeeding Jesus is one that has a history in our faith. In fact, in Bethlehem there is a small chapel beneath Nativity Square known as the Milk Grotto. Legend says that when she was breastfeeding Jesus, Mary spilled some of her milk at the site, causing the walls of the cave to turn white. Many couples dealing with infertility have visited the cave, taking shavings from the cave walls in hopes that they will conceive through Mary’s intercession.

offered his support to nursing moms, either. In 2015, he had offered a similar message to mothers during Baptisms in the Sistine Chapel on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. “You mothers give your children milk and even now, if they cry because they are hungry, breastfeed them, don’t worry,” the pope said. A

That’s also why it means so much to me when I hear Pope Francis encourage breastfeeding mothers. Time and again he has removed the stress and stigma that nursing mothers often feel and has acknowledged what a nurturing and loving act breastfeeding is. In fact, just this past January, Pope Francis told mothers during a baptismal ceremony in the Sistine Chapel: “You mothers, go ahead and breastfeed, without fear. Just like the Virgin Mary nursed Jesus.” What a wonderful image to offer a harried mom with a hungry, crying child. When I read that, it made me smile. I remember the stress of trying to quiet a hungry baby because there was no place to nurse. It wasn’t the first time he has

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@Franciscan Media.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 38)

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BACKSTORY

Something Lost . . .

few months back, I opened a letter from John, a northwest Ohio reader, who contacted the Franciscans with an unusual request. He had found a very old St. Anthony medal that had a message

on the back instructing the finder to send it to St. Anthony Messenger. As you can see in the photo below, a cryptic numeral was embossed on the

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON

back. The message finally made its way to me. I called John, explaining that I might have an answer to his puzzle. Decades ago, our beloved late editor Norman Perry, OFM, while chatting over lunch, told me of a program to get lost keys back to their owner. The owner would request a numbered St. Anthony medal, have his or her name and address registered here, then attach the medal to his or her key ring. If the key ring showed up in the mail here, the friars would look up the number and return the key ring to its owner. This past October, I asked John to send me the medal—I always had wanted to see one. He sent it, along with a letter. He wrote: “I feel St. Anthony has been asking me to get in touch with someone for the last few years to follow through with this lost medal. . . . Even if we don’t find the rightful owner, I feel something good will come out of it.” One of the great things here is a rich history with readers who have been family to each other over many years. The medal provided a way to pray in union with the Franciscan family, including with all of those who subscribe to this magazine, much as our website, Franciscan Media.org, does today. And it allowed someone who spotted a key ring to give a helping hand, with the help of St. Anthony

Here’s the St. Anthony medal, clearly worn from many years clanging among its owner’s keys.

and the Franciscans. Isn’t that what this is all about? Well, John, by the time you read this you will have received your medal back from me. There’s no trace of the registry with the rightful owner’s name, which makes you the rightful owner. Thanks for sharing your medal with all of our readers. Knowing now what the medal looks like, I set out to find one on eBay, and, sure enough, I now have one on my key chain. Thank you, St. Anthony! Do you have one of these medals? Tell me about it by phone, mail, or at JFeister@FranciscanMedia.org. John has a feeling something good will come of his medal. What might that be?

Editor in Chief @jfeister

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